Ecdysis Star
by M.D2ne
Summary: G1: Starscream has a secret carefully hidden away from the Decepticons and Transformers alike, until Megatron suspects him with the help of Soundwave. Will he be able to bear the brunt of the consequences that follow? Epilogue.
1. Introduction: Default Mode 1

A/N: Had this idea juggling over my head for a few days, so I decided to type it out, wondering where it would go…hope you enjoy it! And please don't be completely freaked out in the next chapters to follow :o …bear with me :). I know the titles kinda corny, but it was late (or early) in the morning and I had to wake up for work, so, if you have any suggestions, please feel free to leave it in the reviews, thanks!

Oh yeah, also, speeches in ( ) means that the person is talking in a whisper.

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**Introduction: Default Mode 1**

_Energon Levels 99.9729865_

_General Systems : Normal_

_Password? xxxxxxxxxxxxx_

_Invalid password. Access denied._

_Override sequence………………_

…

…

…

…

…

…

……………………_complete._

_Security systems deactivated and nullified._

_Voice Modulator: Default Mode: 0 / 1 / 2_

_Original Voice Mode : Set_

_Root Mode : 1 / 2_

_Original Root Mode : Set_

_Root Mode System Compatibly Type : 0000012773799abxqqoxk_

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

………………_Complete._


	2. Chapter 1: One Word

**Chapter 1 : One Word**

"This is the last time, Starscream!"

"NO! Please! You don't understand! I-I-I am not hiding anything!"

"LIES!"

"NO MEGATRON! Y-You have to believe me!"

A black finger stabbed at Starscream's direction. "And who would believe a backstabbing traitor like you! If it weren't for Soundwave, that little secret of yours would have resulted in another, might I say, _pitiful_ bungling attempt for the Decepticon leadership!"

"I-It's nothing _like_ that! Please Megatron! Don't!"

A pair of blue trembling hands clasped tightly before Megatron, begging for mercy. The watching eyes of the other Decepticons found this scene too familiar for their liking, and so did Megatron. There he was, kneeling before his leader in his favourite position, begging as usual. As many perks as the rank of being second-in-command offered, all was quickly dwarfed by the copious amounts of begging and grovelling one had to do to avoid the blast from their leaders fusion cannon. If a mission went wrong, collection of Energon was unsuccessful, or something, _anything_, was out of place in the Decepticon ranks, the second-in-command got the blame. It was being the ultimate scapegoat, and Starscream fit the profile. Egotistic, vain, intelligent but blinded by ambitions, he would do anything for self-preservation, even if it means that he would be seen as a spineless coward.

"Soundwave told me that you were hiding something in your body! And to think that you kept it hidden after all the repairs and physical check-ups performed by the Constructicons!"

Thundercracker and Skywarp watched their wingmate shrink under Megatron's words, but they could do nothing to help him. Starscream brought this on himself, and only he could help himself out of his own mess. The duo suddenly found themselves under Megatron's blazing ruby glare.

"Thundercracker, Skywarp! Take this buffoon to the repair bay for the Constructicons! I want them to _find_ whatever he's hiding, even if they have to take him apart, piece by piece!" Megatron growled. The purple and blue jet only nodded in reply, and proceeded to escort the defiant seeker.

"NO! I've done nothing wrong! You'll never take me apart!" Starscream's legs bolted for the nearest exit, screaming in utter panic. "_NEVER!_"

A fierce purple blast raced through the air and hit the fleeing coward in the back. Starscream fell in an arced motion and hit the ground with a plaintive thud. After the initial shock from the ferocity of Megatron's actions, the two seekers meekly picked up the unconscious seeker and placed his weight on their shoulders, exiting the room. A small 'harrumph' escaped Skywarp's pout when the door slid shut and the trio made their way down the long dimmed halls of the Nemesis.

"Sorry 'Screamer…orders are orders…" Thundercracker whispered to the comatose Starscream.

"…And all that slag." Skywarp added.

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The aerial commander cursed the day Soundwave joined the Decepticons. The communications officer's telepathic powers meant that most of the Decepticons were like open datapads to him, and if he concentrated hard enough, he could dig out as many secrets as he can from his own allies. Soundwave did have some dirt on Starscream, but the one that niggled him the most was this particular secret that the clairvoyant Decepticon could not break as much as he tried, and Starscream made sure of that. After careful consideration and thought equalled by the silent frustration in the many vorns that passed behind that white mask, Soundwave reported this ambiguous finding of the red seeker to Megatron. Maybe with the help of their leader, his curiosity could be satisfied…and the safety of their leader and the Decepticon cause.

"Constructicons, don't leave one circuit unmarked but don't just cut through him; I want to make sure that we can take whatever he's hiding and put it to good use."

Now Starscream had a very good reason to slag Soundwave to the Pits and beyond.

The navy blue Decepticon stood by his leader, and they both watched from a distance in the repair bay as the Constructicons carefully removed Starscream's chassis with professional accuracy. A small wave of uncertainty ran through Megatron's circuits when the Constructicons took apart the aerial commanders circuits. Sure, Starscream just _loved_ to pick fights and test Megatron's patience, but the manner of Starscream's pathetic begging sounded more desperate in tone even before Megatron put the seekers life at risk.

"Soundwave, I hope you are right." Megatron mumbled to himself, but not soft enough to escape the communication officer's audio receptors. Soundwave turned to his leader to assure Megatron that taking Starscream apart was an unadulterated decision.

"Starscream has been keeping this secret for many vorns. Classification of threat not imminent until further analysis but he was adamant."

"So you wanted _me_ to make the order to cut him up on an account of your doubts?" Megatron smirked but Soundwave said nothing else. The red visors just reflected the light from the sparks as Hook surgically removed Starscream's wires to expose a metal bone.

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"I've never gone this far before."

"What do you mean Hook? It's not the first time we've cut open any Transformer."

"I know what you mean Scrapper, but this is Starscream."

"Eh-heh-hahahaha! So what, Hook-Hook?"

"What I'm trying to say Mixmaster, is that Starscream has never presented us with any injuries this far into his body."

"At least I don't have to carry the junk from his body to the smelting pot. But now that I think of it…"

"…Maybe Starscream's cowardice saved him from sustaining any grievous injuries. Do you think he's doing it on purpose?"

"……….."

"…Nah. He's just a coward."

"We should paint him ye-ye-yellow after this! Eh-hahahaha!"

"Less talk, more work Constructicons! I don't have all day!"

"(Okay guys, let's hurry it up. Megatron's working his megaphone too)."

"(Shut up! Soundwave might hear us!)"

"(I think he already did)."

"(Aaaah, slaggit)."

"(Wait!)"

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Green and purple hands stopped working after they heard a distinct click. Hook turned off his laser scalpel and the Constructicons stood dumbly over Starscream's comatose body, halting all actions. Small repeated blips from the machine regulating Starscream's life support was the only obvious sound playing in the room, but everything else remained deadly quiet. Even the Decepticon's body's that possessed an internal hum could not be heard over the deafening silence. The Decepticon leader only grew more and more impatient at the Constructicons stalling and he finally broke the uneasy silence.

"What are you fools doing! Have you found anything yet?" Megatron snapped. The Constructicons made a clearing for Megatron to see Starscream's body and their leader stomped towards his second-in-command's inanimate body. Scrutinising Starscream's open chest and arms, Megatron only grew more irritated to know that the purple and green Decepticon's labouring speed was exceedingly slow. The navy Decepticon quickly inquired about he Constructicons abrupt pause in their work before Megatron could blow a fuse in his own circuits.

"Why did you discontinue surgical procedures on Starscream?"

Scrapper then turned his attention to Soundwave's masked poker face and answered him in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Starscream was hiding something."

"It's not dangerous…" Hook continued. "But it is…intriguing."

The grey Transformer narrowed an optic. "Explain."

Mixmaster pointed to Starscream's clean cut bone structure. "Look at his arm-arm and his rib-rib-rib area."

Scavenger hurriedly pulled out a stray arm from the reject bin and placed it next to Starscream's for comparison for their leader and the communication's expert to see, and Hook pointed to Starscream's exposed infrastructure.

"Notice it's slender build compared to a normal arm width of the average Decepticon." Hook's finger ran along Starscream's metallic bone. "However, compared to other internal constructions, the metal properties of Starscream's is of a very high quality."

Megatron grunted. "So he's a more durable idiot. Now I can increase my fusion cannon setting."

"Oh great leader, there is something else." Scrapper quickly interrupted Megatron to explained further. They turned their optics towards Starscream's torso.

"The internal structure of his chest area is of a smaller build in proportion to his outer shell and so is the wiring within it. Starscream has cleverly disguised this difference by evenly spacing and reinforcing his circuits to look-"

"-Normal?" Scavenger finished.

"Conclusive findings?" Soundwave asked.

The Constructicons held their silence once again, waiting for the other two to come to the same conclusion as they have. Megatron's eyes flashed at a sudden realisation and Hook voiced out the answer.

"Starscream is a female Decepticon."


	3. Chapter 2: Hidden Transformer

**Chapter 2: Hidden Transformer**

A/N: Oh man, this just brings a new meaning to the word Transformers, doesn't it? XDDDD Thank you for reading!

Notes: 1 vorn - 83 years / 1 breem - 8.3 minutes - 1000 astroseconds

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The small patter of metal feet could he heard pacing down the halls. With a small energon cube in each hand, Rumble and Frenzy continued their carefree conversation, ignoring whatever and whoever passed them in the halls.

"So bro', what makes ya' think the big daddy-o's gonna do next?" the purple Cassetticon chirped to his brother.

"Dunno. But the 'Screamer's so BUSTED when Megatron finds out what he's hidin'!" Frenzy put out a free hand in the air and his purple counterpart slapped it with his own. A thoughtful look ran over Frenzy's face but Rumble just snapped his fingers to the sound of their footsteps heading towards the repair bay.

"Hey, d'ya think Soundwave's really gonna let us watch? I mean, he did kick us outta his chest when they went in there."

"Why not? Dad's gonna let us in after big ol' Meg's calms down a bit. Plus, I wanna recharge afterwards." Rumble finished his sentence with a small yawn.

"Yeah…I just wanna sit in Soundwave and sleep-"

The Cassetticon's nonchalantly paced towards the repair bay, and soon they reached the slightly battered energon stained doors.

"**_WHAT?!?!!!!!!_**"

"HOLY SLAG RUMBLE!!!"

The brothers were literally thrown off their feet at the unexpected boom from their leader's exclamation behind the doors, and the Cassetticon's quickly recollected their energon and wits before racing back to Soundwave's safe and Megatron-less quarters as fast as their little feet can take them.

Behind the grim gnarled doors of the repair bay, the Constructicons did their best to look small and backed away from the recharge bed where Starscream lay, neatly dissected across the bleak metal. Megatron's hands involuntarily clenched and dragged his cold fingers along the smooth surface on the recharge bed, leaving blunt scratch marks. The communications officer was only a few feet behind his leader and took an extra step back cautiously, but Megatron only slammed his black fists onto the flat surface, upsetting the small screws and circuits arranged alongside Starscream's cold body. Soundwave and Constructicons could not escape their leaders wrath contained within the oil stench room.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" the Decepticon leader bellowed, scanning the room for an answer. Red optics and visors only looked back and forth in confusion to find an answer within each other, but there was nothing verbally offered. A black fist brought itself down onto the table once again and Megatron swivelled his large frame, prowling around the room like a frustrated Ravage. Soundwave narrowly avoided his leader who only stopped to face one of the walls. The Decepticons waited patiently for Megatron, knowing that their leader was already drawing an answer to his own question.

Resting his sharp chin on his fingers, Megatron optics flashed involuntarily with each thought, reflecting against the dark walls that caught the red glow. When a deep 'hmm' escaped Megatron's vocal modulator, the Decepticon's heaved a small sigh of relief and slowly relaxed their shoulders, save for Soundwave who looked indifferent to his leaders reaction. Megatron took another turn to face his troops, revealing a more thoughtful and less irritated countenance, and sauntered up to the recharge bed once again. His ruby optics narrowed further when he looked down on his second-in-command once again. He looked up at the team of Constructicons, getting their full attention.

"…It's so obvious now…"

Soundwave's optics gave out a responding flash behind his visor, and Megatron continued pacing slowly around the room like a teacher inspecting his students.

"What we see here gentlemen, is a simple case of a wayward femme con disobeying the basic rules of the Decepticon military system." An acerbic smile crept along Megatron's steely visage. "When the war broke out between Decepticon and Autobot factions, Decepticon military rules state that no female is allowed to participate in any military warfare, including direct and circumlocutory efforts."

"Females weren't made for warfare anyway…" Longhaul whispered to his comrades.

"Neither were Autobots-" Hook added. Megatron quickly turned to the small band of Decepticon's with a raised finger.

"This one…" he pointed to the stasis locked seeker, "…_this_ one managed to snake her way in and hide in the Decepticon ranks. For nine million years no less." The Decepticons readily agreed with their leader.

"However, the rules have been changed, have they not, Lord Megatron?" Hook questioned. Soundwave didn't want Starscream to get off so leniently and gave his share of facts to his leader.

"Starscream violated Decepticon laws before they were revised."

"But…" Scavenger muttered from his position, "…Starscream's done nothing wrong this time-" a quick glare from Megatron made Scavenger revise his words in a flurry.

"I mean…he-she-h-…Starscream's done a lot of bad for the Decepticons, but he-she's also done a whole lot worse for the Autobots." The Constructicons gazed quizzically at their comrade. Is he actually _defending_ Starscream?

"So what do you want to do with Starscream?"

Megatron looked towards Scrapper, and broadened his smile.

"…Assemble her back, of course." The Constructicons stared at Megatron dumbly before their leader elucidated his command.

"Once that is done, Starscream will already be paying for her insubordination."

"Soundwave, hack into her databanks."

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_Systems fully operational._

'_Systems automatic indicator rename to: Captain Obvious_.'

'…_Ow…my head…_'

Starscream did not turn his optics online, but he did raise his hand to clutch his throbbing cranium. This was the last time he'd get shot in the back by Megatron's fusion cannon again. The seeker quickly ran through a memory relapse to find any indication of Soundwave rummaging through his personal memory banks. _Good, he's not snooping into my private life_' he thought. _'Well, not like he _can. _But he did have to hack into my system so the Constructicons can-_'

Starscream's optics immediately shot open and the red jet yanked himself into a sitting position.

'_Oh no, what have they done-! What have they done! What have they-!_'

Starscream thrust his perfectly functioning hands into view. No blackened scorch marks. No visible laser cut lines. His hands looked perfectly reassembled. In fact, the Constructicons seem to have done such a good job that he looked like he was just created!

'_A little slim though…are these brand new?_'

After incurring his leaders wrath and getting sent to the repair bay numerous times, Starscream usually felt a little light-headed after repairs, maybe a little euphoric, so the visual information sent to his optics may not be accurate for half a breem. He rotated his elbow joints in semi-circles back and forth to test his joints, wringing his lithe blue fingers together. His foot joints twisted in their ball bearings and Starscream felt awkward and embarrassed to be conducting a thorough examination of his own body. Patting his chassis and his head lightly, the seeker could find nothing wrong with himself, but something did _feel_ different.

'…_Did they replace my outer body shell_?'

The seeker quietly trembled on the recharge bed, an unusual trepidation shuddering through his circuits. He knew that he was functioning even better than before, like a large heavy weight was lifted from his shoulders, but the instinctual uneasiness replaced that weight with it's own apprehensive doubts. Taking note of another presence in the dark repair bay, he slowly turned his head to focus on the alien pair of red optics that were on his immediate right.

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"There you go. A new body kit for our lovely lady."

"Shut up Hook. This is Starscream we're talking about."

"Y'know if you look at her inner circuits, she is kinda pretty."

"Whose bright idea was it anyway?"

"Scavenger's."

"No it's not! I only said-!"

"Doesn't matter what you said-said-said-ah-hahahaha?"

"Yeah. Megatron had this thought in his giant grey head already."

"Do you really think Starscream is going to regret what he-"

"SHE-AH-!"

"-Whatever, did?"

"I honestly, have no idea."

"Why would she do this anyway?"

"Dunno. 'Guess the only way to find out is to bring her afterburners out of stasis lock and drill her later."

"AHAHAHAHA! Longhaul wants to drill Starscream-!"

"-Drill her for questions you stupid slagging _loony_!"

"Okay you two, pipe down. She's got her own reasons and we all know she can't keep them to herself after we're through with Megatron's orders."

"Do you think she'll survive in the Decepticon ranks?"

"Eh…why not? As much as I hate to admit it, Starscream's a pretty talented gal."

"On a li-light-lighter note, what do you think of th-thi-this?"

"It's real nice…"

"But we can't do that!"

"Why not? It looks _very_ good."

"Megatron wants us to follow the her default mode, and orders are orders."

"Aw, shucks…"

"…I'll reduce her chassis size then."

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Now it was Starscream's turn to live up to her namesake.


	4. Chapter 3: Original Mode

**Chapter 3 : Original Mode / Catch-22**

A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I don't know how long the civil war started, so I made it up: 9 million years. Oh, by the way…..the title for Chapter 2 is so original!!!! OMGROTFLLOLZ!!! …Just kidding (Oh man, its so early in the morning ;)) Back to Starscream! Poor sod...

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Starscream craned her head to look into a mirror next to the recharge bed. To easily mistaken her own reflection for someone else was bad enough, but to forget her original form?

The red jet hung her jaw like a stupefied cow. It was like looking into the past, when Starscream spent the first few human weeks as a female. She was young and carefree with the youthful pride of being alive. Everything seemed so perfect. Thrusters set to full, she would shoot her body into the clear space of Cybertron before zipping past any floating debris or other aerial Transformers. Everything seemed so perfect for the intelligent femme con literally pulsating with life. Her creator taught her everything there was to know until she could repeat and recycle his teachings.

She wanted to know more.

But right now, she wanted to know why.

"_SHEAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!!!!!_"

"Temper, temper."

Optics darted left and right in the dark room, searching for the original source of Megatron's voice.

"There's no need to shout, my little femme con."

No…_NO!_

Starscream clumsily clambered off the bed and scampered back first into the nearest corner she could find. But she knew what was coming for her. She was a femme con. Femme cons were supposed to rear new Decepticons and upkeep the house. Femme cons were to vacuously cheer for their male counterparts as they thrust themselves into the frontlines of war, with promises of a happy return when, or if they came back. Femme cons were to strictly remain submissive, obedient, and _quiet_. Starscream was not quiet. Starscream was a femme con, who participated in the civil war for nine million years.

And she broke the law. As solid as the Decepticon laws are, so is the punishment met for violating it. So the rules have changed, but that made no difference. She bit her lip and shouted at the room she was in.

"I know what you're trying to do Megatron! I-!" the red seeker paused. She even almost forgot the sound of her old voice, until she screeched. A little more feminine, but it had the Starscream trait nonetheless. She swallowed some air before continuing. There was no one there. She was talking to herself…until a small gruff chuckle escaped the darkness.

"…I-…I'm a femme con! So WHAT! I-" she paused. Before fear came panic, but the end result was a justified anger. There was little rational thought running through her circuits, but Starscream instinctively knew what to say.

"…I fought for the Decepticon cause…" she stood up to her full height, and swung a violent hand at the air. "…I RISKED MY LIFE FOR THE DECEPTICON CAUSE AND IT'S _LEADER!!!!_"

"No one is saying you didn't, little Starscream."

"I'm not _little_!"

The grey Decepticon leader finally emerged from the darkness with a simple flick of the light switch, arresting Starscream's attention to the opposite side of the room. The imposing Transformer was eagerly waiting for Starscream to awake, and was more than happy at the jet's initial reaction, much to Starscream's chagrin.

"Take a closer look."

The femme con followed the direction the large black hand was pointing to, leading to the mirror she had previously mistaken for another Transformer. Lightly stepping into its view and fretful of her leader's intentions, she had a good glance at her original form. The colour scheme never changed, for each individual seeker has their own…until they were terminated, and the next newly created seeker would inherit it. Starscream's was slightly unique, of course. She still maintained her original height, but her arms and legs had a more feminine curve to it, and her head was marginally smaller. The seeker was furtively happy to know that they did not replace her faceplate to some senseless looking suctioned faced femme con. To accommodate her original mode, it altered itself to fit her head size and encompassed a more smooth effeminate touch for a seekers face, making her look-

"Cute."

The seeker turned her attention to Megatron and his derisive comment. "…Whatever."

"What's wrong, woman? Not screaming for mercy anymore?"

As womanly as she was, Starscream could not break old habits and let out a coarse grunt in response.

"I know I'm not in trouble anymore Megatron." Her arms slid into a cross over her chest and rudely turned to look away from Megatron.

'_Still the same old Starscream_.'

The seeker turned her attentions to her waiting leader, and they both could guess what the latter was thinking. Knowing each other for too long a time had its 'bonuses', and the seeker only narrowed her optics to small red slits.

"I suppose you want to know why I joined the Decepticon army by disguising as a man."

"You've already answered that question Starscream. Even without your meagre presence, any Transformer with common sense would know why."

"My, you're clever. No _wonder_ you're the leader."

"Sarcastic as usual Starscream. When did this start?"

The jet just looked condescendingly from her shoulder with a raised optic.

'_Great. My leader wants to have a little bonding session with me now. Fantastic. Why didn't he just bring Soundwave and his little midgets to record it all? In fact, let's announce it over the P.A.! One Decepticon chick, coming right up, DING!!!_' Her thoughts were interrupted by a dangerously low growl.

"Starscream…"

"I did it long before the civil war even started, oh _great_ leader." She hissed. "There were many strict gender biased laws that prevented a female from doing anything outside domestic work (if you've forgotten), and I don't believe a femme con such as I needed to waste her natural talents on cleaning micro dust off an energon cooker. I know most femmes were already built to be one dimensional, but I guess the Transformers forgot to cater to those who weren't."

"…Happy?"

"Oh yes…" a small raspy chuckle escaped Megatron's vocals, but Starscream was not finished.

"Now I have some questions for you, Megatron."

"Is a femme con allowed to ask questions directly to her leader?"

"I don't CARE!!!" the jet untwined her arms with a venomous grace to her sides and stamped her foot on the bleak floor. "What I'd like to know is _why_ on Earth would you rebuild me in my original form? What's the POINT?! You could have terminated me when I was in stasis lock! What are you trying to do?!!" a blue trembling finger lanced the air at Megatron's direction, but the leader only widened his smirk.

"A good seeker is hard to come by nowadays. And one that is my second-in-command, to have earned that rank requires the 'natural talents' that you have exhibited in the many vorns under the Decepticon flag. Even if you are a back-stabbing dolt, anyone can see that your merits have scarcely outweighed your faults."

A small forced huff escaped the irate seeker's lips in denial of what is being fed through her audios, and she faced the wall once again.

"Despite your deviancy, you shall remain as my second-in-command in the Decepticon army, and continue serving your leader."

"Consider yourself extremely lucky, Starscream."

If Starscream opened her optics any wider, the glass protectors would have fallen out. Her mind raced at Megatron's composed level-headed reaction to her previous predicament. There was no angry cannon firing, no raised vocals to put the red seeker back in place…All she heard was the doors to the repair bay shucking open to let Megatron out of this miserable hull within the Nemesis.

"Wait a minute."

The Decepticon leader stopped to listen.

"There's a catch, isn't there?"

Megatron mentally shrugged it off. "No, not really."

"YES THERE _IS!_"

A sudden startle from the aerial commander was enough proof that they both knew each other much too well. A pair of boorish feet stomped towards Megatron, but he only replied to Starscream's mannerisms by facing the femme con with the look of a blameless Transformer. The seeker cocked her head slightly to look at her bullet-headed leader in the optics.

"Changing overnight is not going to be all, 'peaches and cream' Megatron!"

"Picking up fleshling lingo I see?"

"I'm going to have to reformat my social relationships with the other Decepticons who've known me as the 'male' Starscream! Decepticons! Who haven't seen a female in four million years!!!!"

"We were in stasis lock, so it won't matter much. And femme cons aren't so rare."

"If you think the male to female Decepticon ratio being _sixty thousand nine hundred and eighty five _to**ONE** isn't **_RARE!!!_**"

"Hmm." Megatron looked thoughtful. "I didn't know that. Interesting."

"**YOU DID THIS ONE PURPOSE MEGATRON!!!!**"

"Look Starscream." Megatron leaned over the femme con, dangerously close to her face. "I never asked your creator to make you a _woman_."

Starscream shut her optics in defence, but squeaked one open to find Megatron smiling gaily.

"Now, I have more important matters to attend to." The Decepticon leader proceeded out of the door. "Have fun, Starscream."

The red seeker stood in her spot, flabbergasted at the entrance. This wasn't happening. This was _not_ supposed to happen! Of all the punishments Megatron had met out for her disobedience! This! This-

"Eh…I wonder if 'Screamer's okay, TC."

"The sooner we get to the 'Screamer the better-"

"Oh, hi Starscrea-AAEEEEYAYIIIII!!!!!"

The purple seeker Skywarp managed to withhold his incoherent holler next to Thundercracker, who adopted the same look Starscream was wearing a few astroseconds ago. Two pairs of widened scarlet optics were dead focused on their 'new' aerial commander, now looking more tired and older than ever.

"…Oh Primus…" Skywarp whispered.

"…A Deceptichick!"

Starscream slapped her head at the purple jet's limitless idiocy.

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A/N: Eh, kinda weird but I'm getting somewhere! When Starscream, um, screams, at the beginning of the chapter, I was referring to Simon Furman's old school writing style i.e. 'Furmanisms'. :) Yeah, still read the old comics. To answer Lady Dementia's question in full, Starscream did it before she became a scientist, and in the first episode with Starscream and Sky/Jetfire you see the normal Starscream jetting off with him. She is sneaky:D


	5. Chapter 4: Modus Operandi I

**Chapter 4 : The One With The Clichés a.k.a. Modus Operandi I**

A/N: Eh-heh, long title (I have no idea :P) I noticed that femme 'Cons and Seekers starts with a capital letter, but I like to be casual, so I'm keeping it the way I type it ;) I committed the typo on purpose! Don't panic! …(Okay, you can panic now!) Oh, and to those who don't know, 'Screamer, 'Warp, and TC is referring to Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker. It's been the nicknames for the three of them going around these parts, but 'Screamer was mentioned in a G1 TF episode by Thundercracker.

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_One breem_ _ago…_

"I hope Starscream's okay…"

A pair of blue hands wrung each other worriedly. Thundercracker was the first to worry about Starscream whenever something happens to him. Sure, the trio had their fair share of injuries, but their aerial commander always ended up with the worst. Starscream was the only seeker who would boldly strike out first in the aerial attacks, take the wildest gamble and be the last seeker to remain flying. Thundercracker's faith in Starscream's idiosyncrasies juggled itself in his thoughts.

'_And some people called him cowardly…if anyone of us had a fusion cannon aimed at our face we'd look cowardly_.…_okay, so he does think he's the next best thing to Primus and ends up in the worst situations 'cause he puts himself there…no wonder he begs so much…'_

"Hey, TC----------"

"Wha-oh, RIGHT! ..…What?"

"Slag, you never listen to me…I swear, when you think, your optics get foggy…" Skywarp grumbled to his blue counterpart. The purple jet had his dark arms folded behind his head for support, but Thundercracker only muffled his laughter. Skywarp raised his optics to look at Thundercracker peculiarly.

"…What?"

"'Warp…y-" past a cough and a wheeze, "-don't do that…y-" and another cough, "-you look like one of those…phffft---!"

"WHAT?!"

"BIG METAL CHICKEN!!!"

"W-WHAT?! Who you callin' a chicken, eh?!" a dark purple arm wound itself around Thundercracker's neck and proceeded to noogie a dent into the unfortunate seeker's head. The two seekers struggled against each other, trying to pry one another off from a cranial attack and they both finally relented. Thundercracker pushed Skywarp away harder than was intended with a grin, and they both continued plodding down the dour halls of the Nemesis.

"Call me a chicken again and you'll face my 'Knuckle-Of-Doom'…"

"Ooh--I didn't know chicken's _had_ knuckles-hey stopitstopit_stopit!!!_"

"…..(Knuckle-Of-Doom)…"

A sour blue hand rubbed an equally sour head and Thundercracker quickened his pace towards the repair bay. Skywarp checked Thundercracker's face and immediately guessed what the blue seeker was thinking.

"Eh…I wonder if 'Screamer's okay, TC."

"The sooner we get to the 'Screamer the better-"

"Oh, hi Starscrea-AAEEEEYAYIIIII!!!!!"

_And back to the present…  
_

The two jets did their best to keep up with the exasperated female seeker that was rapidly trudging back to her personal quarters. Chattering excessively on each side of her audios, Starscream was too miserable to sort out their gibberish. They both started to look like a vague resemblance to Thalia and Melpomene from the symbolic icon for drama, or more recognizable to Starscream as 'Smiley' and 'Frowny' the unremitting chatteroids. Violently punching in the code to her quarters, Starscream waited for the door to invite her into her own room, and when she could, she gladly stomped in, shut the door behind her and left the two outside like lost puppies. Thundercracker jerked back in shock but his purple friend was unfortunate enough to walk into the door.

…Silence.

The small hum from the Nemesis and the distant sound of rough housing Decepticons could be heard from above and below them. Hollow vibrations emitting from other miscellany ran through the ship. The two waited for something to happen and soon enough, the door in front of the two seekers slid open again to reveal their much changed aerial commander.

"Hsst!"

A sharp blue finger immediately snapped at Skywarp's mouth, shushing the purple seeker from clicking it open to let out another verbal onslaught. Trailing towards the blue seeker, Starscream let out a low growl from her pouted lip and narrowed her ruby optics to sharp slits, warning Thundercracker from even moving in fright. After a few earth seconds, Starscream gradually lowered her irate finger to join her balled fists and shrugged her wings in their intimidating posture.

"You don't have to run your mouths like it's a marathon _gentlemen_…" Starscream snarled. Switching her burning gaze from purple to blue, Thundercracker finally mustered the courage to ask her what exactly was going on.

"'Screamer…is that…_you_?"

"No TC, it's Starscream's twin sister…Screamerella!"

"Oh wow, and I thought Starscream was a _different_ kinda Transformer if you know what I mean I always thought he was a little you know-eh-heh-heh-_OW**-**WHAT-THE-SLAG TC?!!!!_" Skywarp rubbed his arm in pain. Starscream let out a defeated sigh and lowered her wings, inviting them with a wave of her hand.

"Come inside, I'll tell you everything…"

-------

After a short and informative lecture, Starscream was left with two enlightened seekers sitting on her recharge bed, waiting for a reaction while she placed herself on a stray chair in front of them. Actually, she was just left with one seeker smarter than the other.

"So…" Skywarp repeated what he heard. "You…are…born a Deceptichick…"

Skywarp's promising reply to Starscream's explanation gave the femme con the incentive to pretend the purple jet was non-existent from that point in time, so Thundercracker gave the purple seeker his undivided attention.

"But…because you wanted to learn and stuff…you disguised as a…man seeker….aaaand….you…fought the war, kicked Autobot fenders…buuuuut…."

The femme con simply buried her head and her growing migraine into her hands, prompting the blue jet to aid Skywarp and his dilemma.

"…Starscream has always been female. She just disguised as a male." The perplexed look did not wear off Skywarp's face, and he looked to Thundercracker for a more evident answer. A flash of red appeared in front of Skywarp, and the purple jet jerked from being violently grabbed by an infuriated femme con. Starscream raised the clueless seeker to her optics and screamed at him at point blank range.

'I'M A FEMME CON! I'M A FEMME CON! I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A FEMME CON YOU STUPID SLAG! I JUST DRESSED LIKE A MALE SEEKER SO I CAN DO SLAG! BUT I AM STILL, A, _FEMME_, **CON FOR PRIMUS SAKES!!!!**"

"Okay okay, I geddit! Don't hafta scream into my audios…(touchy femmes…)" Skywarp was thrown back onto the recharge bed leaving Starscream to pace the room.

"'Screamer…"

Starscream whipped her head to look into the soft glowing optics of the empathic blue seeker. He looked genuinely concerned for her now, and Thundercracker's close friends knew it was hard for him not to be concerned for their well-being. Starscream slowly softened at his disposition, but side-glanced at Skywarp with a steely look in her optics to keep him in check.

"…I'm…glad that you told us Starscream…and I-(well I think) I understand. You know 'Warp and I are on your side, but…" the blue jet frowned, "…how are you going to tell the rest of the Decepticons?"

Starscream had the same sentiments and scowled inwardly. How she managed to reach her quarters without being spotted by any other Decepticon, accompanied by a pair of seekers chattering loudly was a coincidental miracle. With the draconic gender biased laws still instilled against femme cons, none of the Decepticons would be happy knowing that Megatron has a female con in their numbers, especially one at her rank who managed to kept her gender hidden for many vorns. After a short pause, Skywarp slapped his fist and his palm together with a suggestion.

"Maybe you can announce it over the P.A.? Or go into the canteen and just-"

"-Have the army rip her to shreds? Some of us aren't animals…just monsters! If she walks out and people start getting ideas-"

"I have an idea."

The duo turned to Starscream. "There is a meeting today in the conference room at noon. I can introduce myself there, and no one can do anything to me because Megatron would not allow it. I'm sure of that."

"And after that?"

The femme con turned to Thundercracker with her distinctive smirk.

"I am Starscream, second-in-command of the Decepticon army. I may have a new body, but my strengths and talents remain the same." She crowed and cocked her head in her own lofty manner, reassuring her worrisome friend.

"Let them _try_. And don't worry _too _much Thundercracker…I don't need a Decepticon in shining armour."

"'Screamer…?"

The two seekers drew their attention to their purple friend.

"What is it, Skywarp."

"Just wanted to let you know again that, well…"

"…You'll always be our best bud Starscream, no matter what body you choose."

The red and blue jet was more than surprised at Skywarp's out-of-character comment, which was rewarded with an equally rare smile towards the purple seeker.

"...Why, thank you Skywarp! I didn't think that _you_ of all Transformers would say something like that but-"

"-And you're nicer to look at now. Your legs are really hot-"

Thundercracker had to hold Starscream back from feeding Skywarp her really hot legs.

-------

A/N: Hey, if you didn't know, there is a Screamerella fairy tale and I was referring to that too! Read it its funny!


	6. Chapter 5: Reintroduction

**Chapter 5: Reintroduction**

A/N: Thank you for your questions and reviews again (very much)! I know that the story seems to run quite slow right now, but I just wanna get some stuff out of the way. Any more questions can be directed to Panda Eyes (me) for the lack of sleep. **O**v**0**

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Wave after wave of Decepticon feet grudgingly filled the meeting room within the Nemesis. Each had his own complaint about the spherical rooms decreasing size because of the slowly growing population of the Decepticon army on Earth, all awkwardly cramming themselves inside this vertical tunnel. They stood waiting because their leader liked his troops to be prepared, and such comforts such as seats were unnecessary. Familiar peer groups formed, gestalts, Triple changers, aerial cons, and the like, gradually increasing the volume of the hubbub in the room.

When the room was quite full, Megatron entered the assembly, his troops making a rough pathway for him to ascend the plinth conveniently situated in the centre of the room. Those who callously pushed the others back to make way for their leader were soon shoved back into their places with extra force.

Megatron optics met his troops who were gazing back at their leader impatiently, except for one. And as soon as she came in, he smiled.

A low gasp erupted form the troops accompanied by disgruntled mutterings and contemptuous growls. She wanted to get it over with, and was glad to some extent that she did not have to shove anyone out of her way. A sardonic remark from her leader to announce her presence followed by an equally caustic answer to his comment, Starscream included a firm warning to anyone and everyone who doubted her abilities and questioned her rank as second-in-command of the Decepticon army.

Not wanting to be left unsatisfied, Megatron forced her to expound some personal details in relation to her current form, so the troops won't be left too confused and he could gloat over her apparent uneasiness.

When all explanations were done, she kept quiet and let the meeting commence. No one asked her anything more, and she didn't care either. They needed some time to let the information seep in, but she purposely made a fact clear:

She was, and always is Starscream.

-------

"Sweet Primus he's a lady!"

"She's always been a lady Drag Strip."

"I wasn't talking to you, Hook _face_."

"Hey, you sure you don't have a secret you wanna reveal, Drag _Stripper_?"

"_Slag you, Constructigeeks!!!"_

Peeling his attention away from nursing his drink to the fighting gestalts, Skywarp immediately concluded that even if the Stunticons won the skirmish, Drag Strip would have the most green and purple scratches on his body. And fighting with the gestalt cum medical team was a pretty stupid idea. Even he knew that.

"Hey TC, didn't Starscream wanna drink? She said she was low on energon."

A dreamy look met Skywarp and Thundercracker answered him loosely, stirring his drink.

"She said she was going to lie low for a while in her room, let the guys get used to her as a femme..."

"Gonna bring her a cube then?"

"…Yeap." Thundercracker downed the remaining energon in his cube and stood up. Casually grabbing another cube, the blue seeker ambled out of the mess halls with Skywarp hastily catching up after almost drowning his nose in his drink. '_TC's in one of his sleepy moods again_,' the purple jet mulled, '_a little bit low on energon and he gets _really _tired…weird…'_

"What's wrong ol' buddy?" Thundercracker didn't stop starring straight but answered his companion.

"Meh. You know. The whole…"thing"," he replied. "'S weird thinking about it, at the same time, it makes sense."

"Really-huh?!"

Thundercracker shared the same sentiment when they couldn't find the red seeker in her quarters.

-------

Why was she not surprised. Okay, maybe a little surprised that it was the Coneheads confronting her, but to gang up on a fellow flier?

…Reasonable.

'_They _are_ Decepticon's after all…_' Starscream mused. Having exited the conference room last, the femme con knowingly strode towards the opposite direction of all the others when she had the chance, wondering the quieter halls of the Nemesis. A small mistake she made but it was the least of her concerns when Ramjet was leading the discriminating team.

"Oh, hello Ramjet. Is Dirge too depressed to lead the party?" Starscream opened her question with feigned innocence. Dirge looked down in small regret, but he didn't stop the other two. Thrust made a hacking snarl and shot a wad of spit at Starscream's feet.

"Safety in numbers, huh Thrust? I thought we understood each other…After all, which other coward do the Decepticon's refer to when they are not talking about me?"

"Shaddup female! You know you don't belong here!" Ramjet growled back, but the red seeker did not let go of her sarcasm. Her lips dropped to a threatening frown in expectance of what was about to happen between the four of them, and no sooner than that thought came to mind, Ramjet flew straight at her, head first.

The femme con was glad she was invited to a fight, but more importantly, she had to remind the three insolent Coneheads of the Decepticon hierarchy.

'_So predictable, you three._' she grinned and snagged Ramjet's arm with an uncanny swiftness. Swung in an arc motion into the nearest wall, the white Conehead was temporarily stalled from attacking and only realised he missed his mark when he could not release his top half from the layers of purple metal. Making the next move and sparing no time for the latter to react, Starscream lunged towards Dirge and threw both feet into the unfortunate Conehead's face, instantly smashing his nose and optics. That calculated act of austere violence was enough to scare the last Conehead as what was protruding pieces on his comrades face fell onto the floor, and before Starscream turned her full attention to Thrust, he was already dashing down the hall in retreat.

Recovering from her attack, the white Conehead immediately made another lunge for her chassis, but a strange metal clang echoed against his feet as he was about to make a collision with the femme con. The puzzled jet looked around to find a small Cassetticon falling back from running into his leg, and when he looked forward again, Starscream's knee had met with _his_ chassis, and clasping her hands together, she clubbed him further into the floor.

Kicking Ramjet on the floor to remind him to retreat, the remaining Coneheads went in Thrust's direction and disappeared shortly into the darkness. Now with her undivided attention, the seeker picked up Rumble with outstretched arms, like a mother admiring her baby. Except that this baby was a testy purple Cassetticon who swung his limbs passionately like an angry child.

"Hey, put me down ya' femme-!"

"Don't make me carry you by the scruff, Rumble." Starscream crooned. Rumble took a few minutes to register her words, and the Cassetticon settled down.

"Good boy. So, what brings you here, and where's your midget twin? Did your big _daddy _Soundwave, send you to spy on me?" The purple Cassetticon sneered at her last comment and shouted back.

"Hey, when Rumble hears a fight, he's gotta be innit too! I heard them pickin' on ya' an'-!" Starscream made a 'tching' sound with her lips and shook her head.

"You shouldn't be telling the 'victim' you want to fight with her when there are a pair of guns at the end of these arms, _Rumble_-"

"_HEY!_ Who said I wanna fight with you! Geez, of all the femme cons I try and rescue you're the most-!"

"_Rescue me?!!_ Now that's just-" she might have took his words as an insult but Rumble's down-turned head told her otherwise. A small smile curled into a devious grin, and the seeker lifted the Cassetticon higher so he couldn't hide his face.

"My, my…you're quite the hero when you want to be…"

"H-Hey! I-I was jes' tryin' at' help! A good fight's not fun when you're all ganged up! (An' stupid 'Rammy's' big foot got in d' way…)"

If the Cassetticon's hands weren't set so far apart by Starscream's fingers, he would be frantically fidgeting them against each other right now. When Starscream leaned in closer to have a better look at him, he snapped his head as far as he could from her curious optics.

"…My hero." Rumble wriggled uncontrollably at that last comment.

"-S nothin'! Why ya' reading' into it so much?!"

"_You_ deserve a reward!"

"Wait-! W-Whaddya doin'?! Don't you be doin' what I think you're-! No! Stop it! _YOU'RE FREAKIN' ME OUT!_ _WOAH-!_"

If Starscream was his size, Rumble would have received a soft peck on the cheek, but being a seeker much too large for him, she settled for giving him a kiss on the side of his head, almost pushing it to an extreme angle.

"Muah. Happy now, hero?"

"_WA-YEE-E-AAH-! _LEGGO! LEGGO! LEGGO OFF ME-! _LEGGO!_" Starscream did as was told and the Cassetticon nimbly leapt out of her hands, more than happy that his feet touched the solid floor. Surveying the halls for any extra pair of optics, the purple Decepticon jumped in fright and fluster when he noticed Starscream squatting in an attempt to meet his height.

"Ah-erh….um…You-you won't t-tell anyone r-right?" he dragged his foot behind the other nervously and his hand strayed to rub his head sheepishly. Watching the seeker mockingly pucker her lips only served to agitate Rumble and the jumpy Cassetticon frantically waved his arms in hysteria when she sniggered in reply.

"Don't t-tell anyone ya' hear! P-PROMISE! O-OR ELSE-!"

She watched his tiny feet take him as fast as it could away from her, and for the first time in her original body, Starscream was happy.

-------

"Starscream report."

"Reporting, Megatron. And may I add that your brilliant Coneheads were nicely slagged for the med bay, courtesy of my fists."

"My, what a gentle delicate creature you are."

"And if you think your little plan to give the Decepticons troops another reason to hate me and slag me is working, I'm pleased to disappoint you."

"Everyone hates you as you already are, my _little _Starscream."

"...What do you want, oh mighty _leader_?"

"I want you, Skywarp and Thundercracker to conduct a raid on an oil field, northwest from here."

"And the purpose of that?"

"To collect Energon you fool, what else?!"

"As you wish, my _lord_."

-------

A familiar clonking sound of Thundercracker's running feet were heard as soon as Starscream took the corner towards her room. She wrinkled her brow when she noticed his outstretched but uninvited arms as he came plodding towards her, and the blue jet immediately took the hint, putting his arms back to his sides.

"Where were you?" his tone sounded almost demanding.

"Don't worry, big and blue," she chirped. "Megatron wants us to raid an oil field."

The energon cube in Skywarp's hands got the attention of her optics, and knew it was her share of energon. She freed the pink and purple substance from Skywarp's hands and arresting it in her own, downed the whole lot in one shot. Skywarp couldn't help but notice her knuckles were slightly grazed with white paint.

"What happened there 'Screamer?"

"Stupid Coneheads. Twied to pick on widdel ol' Starswean, awww." she drew a mocking tone to her voice added with a look of pure innocence. The purple jet grinned with her joke.

"So I kicked their afterburners." and the all familiar frown came back to her visage. Skywarp didn't stop grinning and the duo followed the aerial commander to the docking bay.


	7. Chapter 6: Little L

**Chapter 6: Little L**

A/N: Time to see some red and gold...I only made this chapter title after writing it, and out of PURE _coincidence_! (See, the italics make me _sound_ serious ;)) That I realised Jamiroquai has a song called that! Casual and random chapter, so nothing serious here :) Also, I've been correcting some typos in the last few fanfics, just to be consistent 8o Oh man, the mistakes eat into me!

-------

"Jazz, if ya' can't keep it, don't drive!"

"Sunstreaker, if you drove any faster, no one's gonna catch sight of your beautiful self!"

"Really?" the Lamborghini took a screeching turn to stop and face the Porsche, but the latter simply drove past him.

"Gotcha!"

"HEY!!!" a simple rev of the engines got Sunstreaker hood-to-hood with the Porsche. Sunstreaker's reputation as the vainest self-glorifying Transformer was known to anyone whose audio receptors were in range of his mouth. It didn't help that he had legs to propel his magnificent chassis from one unfortunate Autobot to the other, but as egotistical as he was, Sunstreaker was good at his job. How to convince _anyone_ to work with him like his brother was near to impossible, but luckily for him, Jazz was one of the rare few who could stomach his immortal ego.

"Yo' man, when the big Decepticon kahuna's not up to something big, he let's out his kids in the oil fields!" Jazz reminded his impatient friend. "We're not patrolling now my yellow friend, so when you see the oil fields over th' horizon, we get sneaky, got it?"

An overdramatic sigh escaped Sunstreaker's radio, but the Porsche knew exactly what to say in reply.

"When we get em' by surprise, there's more fun for you!"

"I hope so Jazz...those flying bozos are getting boring. And I hate the way their colours reflect off my hood...the purple just clashes with my paint job."

"Oh man, I just got a call from Teletraan 1 and the Decepticreeps have gone to another one further up from the first hit!"" the Porsche exclaimed. "Time to put the pedal to the metal, Sunny boy!"

-------

"Blitzwing and Astrotrain can have this energon." the purple jet dipped his finger in an open cube and put said finger in his mouth. "Tastes kinda bland to me."

"Hey 'Warp, since when did you become an energon expert?" the blue jet wrinkled his nose when Skywarp started dipping the same digit into the other energon cubes. "Stop it!"

"What they don't know won't hurt 'em."

"I agree with Thundercracker. As second-in-command of the Decepticon army and the pride of the Cybertronian War Academy, I order you to cease that disgusting habit."

"No. My fingers are clean, and I washed them in my mouth before tryin' them." When the gravel beneath their feet irritated the purple seeker, he didn't stop to think twice and leaned over to scratch his foot with the same hand...and resumed his energon tasting mission with it. Starscream leaned over to the blue seeker turning green in the face and whispered a new course of action.

"...(Thundercracker, save as many energon cubes as you can from Skywarp. When we get back, take our unpolluted share to a safe place far away from this depraved seeker)."

Thundercracker nodded and transformed into his alt mode with the untainted share, gladly shooting into the blue skies. Before the other two were about to follow suit, Thundercracker spotted a dust cloud roaring in the distance, and judging by the speed they were going at, he deduced that they were Autobots. His guesses were confirmed when he spotted an Autobot insignia on the yellow Lamborghini.

"Thundercracker to Starscream, there's two Autojerks up ahead, want me to distract them?"

"No! You and 'Warp fly off without me...I can deal with those two-" she felt a tight grip on her arm and Starscream's temper flared when she saw who's hands were holding her back.

"There's no time to be showin' off 'Screamer! We have to get these back-"

"And we will!" she screeched and swiped her captive hand back, but Skywarp grabbed her wings and Thundercracker radioed in to his grounded comrades.

"C'mon 'Screamer! You don't have to prove to _us_ you're a tough gal-!"

"I'm not proving _ANYTHING_ you **MORONS**!" she swung to face Skywarp, and the purple jet had to let go or get a hearty slap from her wings. "_You'll_ be the distraction...just hold onto the energon and don't get hit."

Starscream's team mates were left clueless as to what she had planned for the Autobots. Her concentrated silence told them that if they did not follow her orders, their efforts would be for naught, and the purple F-15 quickly joined his blue counterpart in the sky, hovering impatiently for the Autobot's to arrive.

"Seriously 'Screamer...what are you gonna do?"

She didn't know whether it would really work, but the femme con wanted her teams utmost confidence.

"Something I've always wanted to do. Now here's the plan...so listen carefully..."

-------

"I see 'em!"

The Lamborghini accelerated hastily towards the two hovering seekers in fear he would miss the chance for a fight, but the Autobot saboteur and his suspicions were alerted the moment he saw the duo. First of all, the seekers came in three's or six's. Secondly, their common and overused hit-and-run tactic was neglecting the part where they had to run, and for a pair of jets who could fly at Mach 2 speeds easily, they seem to be narrowly missing Sunstreaker's shots on purpose. Their erratic flight patterns infuriated the yellow Autobot aiming for their thrusters, but the optics behind the blue visors saw a mocking display of aerial acrobatics towards the Lamborghini.

No sooner had Jazz transformed into his root mode did the jets exchange their twists and turns to a straight flight course, and to catch them, the saboteur quickly transformed back to follow their enemies. Sunstreaker had already picked up the pace and raced after the two, more than goaded into kicking their afterburners, with the Porsche seen catching up with the restless Autobot in his rear-view mirror.

"Sunstreaker, you're in too deep! Bail out man! We're in an oil field!"

"From what?! I've got them right in my sights! They don't dare to shoot the ground or they'd be Autobot Fried Deceptichickens!"

"We don't hafta' join them in th' barbeque too! Let's chase 'em outta here!"

The flying duo took the cue from the Autobots and drew a circular flight path before returning back to their formation, but the cars did not buy their cheap tactic to separate them both and headed in a fairly straight line. Keeping the Lamborghini in check, Jazz felt a small relief knowing that Sunstreaker was rational enough not to go at an insane speed. One white circular structure rolled by after another, and the seekers quietly cursed the Autobot's dogged determination.

"Jazz, we've almost got 'em!"

"Don't count your tires in one garage, man! We're not out of the clearing yet! As soon as we past this-"

"**LEG?!!!!!**"

-------

"...Leg?"

"OH PRIMUS YEAH! And the suckers spun like _CRAZY!!!!_" Skywarp gesticulated wildly with suppressed sniggering. The Decepticon's in the canteen were gleaming with wicked smiles across their faces, and the purple jet had more to tell.

"Man! Oh man! Hey Soundwave, Rumble! You just in! Listen listen listen! So we were taking energon cubes when the Auto-dumb-boot's showed up, right?"

The purple jet continued retelling his story even if the communication officer's face of indifference did not seem impressed by the jet's gusto.

"Then, THEN! Oh, like, 'Screamer tells us to fly 'round and stuff, right? So we fly and fly-" whistling sound effect accompanied by finger twirling by yours truly, "-and they start rolling around the field, 'cause they just don't let go! Then, outta _nowhere_, Starscream sticks out one of her hot LEGS! (Don't tell 'Screamer I said that she'll kill me but damn she'shot!) right in front of them! OH MAN! The geeks were like, "**LEG!!!**" and they just swerved inta' each other and they were like _FWIU FWIU FWIU FWIU FWIU! C-**RASH!!!**_Man they hit an oil pipe an' there was oil everywhere!"

"They made a little victory oil fountain for us," Thundercracker added his comment to the blaring laughter echoing the canteen and the halls around it.

"One of them was like, "_MY PAINT JOB!!!_" and he kept on bitching about how he waxed today but ah, who cares, we were flying away," the din in the canteen was interrupted by the Decepticon's star guest entering the crowd. Soundwave stopped chuckling in amusement and Rumble ran to the safety of his creator's navy blue feet. The femme con standing at the door suddenly heard a roar of admiration of the Decepticon's in the room with a barrage of shouting, whistling, hollering and a few private invitations to various living quarters. Shaking her head, she gave a meaningful look at Thundercracker and the blue jet mouthed the secret location to the 'pure' energon cubes. Numerous optics were planted on her, so Starscream took a deep bow and they continued cheering, even after she left the room.

-------

"...Was that a..."

"...I'm not sure 'Sunny."

Sunstreaker was torn between his dirty chassis and the mysterious leg. Jazz decided to worry about the extensive damages caused by two Autobots...and the mysterious leg.

"It _was_ a female leg...I know it."

"Three jets flew off after that man...and that was definitely Starscream...but, isn't Starscream...I mean it _looked_ like...(Starscream's...leg)..."

"They all look the same to me..."

"Maybe they had props..."

"...I just got a new paint job..."

"Man, we have so much cleaning up t' do..."

"...MY NEW PAINT JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

-------

"...A leg?"

Megatron raised an optic, trying his best to sort out Soundwave's words that descended from his monotonous tone to a more harmonious rhythm, retelling the events that transpired this afternoon, word for word. The Decepticon eased into his chair and rubbed his chin, playing with his thoughts.

"Interesting..." he smiled.

-------

A/N: YAY, AUTOBOTS! Writing the first few chapters of this fanfic has made me seen purple and blue, and I realised, I do need to write about the Autobots, a little ahead of 'schedule' but it was worth it. I do love them, believe you me! Um...corny KFC reference by Sunstreaker, but hey! They were in the 80's!


	8. Chapter 7: Seeing Blue I

**Chapter 7: Seeing Blue I**

A/N: Thank you for the reviews! ...I was actually a little indecisive as to how long the fanfics gonna run, but now I have a better idea! Thank you again!

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"Go now, Skywarp."

"No way 'Screamer! You can move your legs right? C'mon!"

She looked back hopelessly at the debris that buried her legs, listening to the roar of Autobot engines nearing their location. Starscream could only warn her team mates before she herself got caught in the landslide. Thankfully, the stray boulders did not crush her head, but the rest of her body was pinned, leaving her head and her arms sticking out of the dull landscape like a sore thumb. It would take a few hours for the Constructicon team to dig her out, and time was not an option when Megatron had already called for a retreat, leaving her and her persistent team mate begging to stay.

_'Damn that Ironhinge, Ironwide, Iron-whatever he is_,' she cursed inwardly.

"C'mon 'Screamer, I'll pull ya' out! We can worry about those hot legs later-" supporting his legs on the rocks underneath the female con, the purple seeker hastily grabbed her arms and started yanking forcibly. A sharp pain grew in her shoulder joints and she had to struggle against the purple jet to stop his futile attempts at freeing her.

"Skywarp, _stop_!"

He dropped her arms unceremoniously, wearing a defeated frown. She narrowed her optics at the Autobot vehicles drawing closer.

"Leave now." she hissed dangerously. "That's an _order_, Sky_warp_."

"...Code?"

"CW4-TRE."

"But-!"

"You heard me!" she slapped the ground with her hand, ignoring his pitiful look.

"...See you in four weeks, 'Screamer," he gave a weak wave and leapt to the sky. Starscream watched the purple and black F-15 beat a hasty retreat safely. Resting her forehead on the ground, she did not notice a pair of red legs approach her. Nor did she care.

"Well I'll be, if it ain't Megatraun's second-in-command."

"Great observation, Autobot lackey."

"Ahrnhide's th' name, and bustin' your chops' th' game, Stahscream."

_'Well, at least he knows my name_', she thought. It was embarrassing enough that she was caught underneath a cheap tactic, being one of the fastest aerials con who could easily fly away, but to save her team mates from looking stupid? '_They owe me _BIG_ time.'_

"Y' sound a li'll diff'rent thar...what's wrong? Ah' busted yer' vocalisers too? C'mawn, don't be rude...yh' could a'least look up at the guy who nailed yer tailfin!"

The sound of Autobot feet grew louder, and judging by the vibrations of one heavy pair, she knew she was in the presence of the Autobot leader with the rest of his army behind him.

"Well guys, looks like we've got ourselves a prisoner. Good work Ironhide."

"Thanks Phrime'!"

"You slag, Starscream! That's for my paintjob! It took _days_ to wash off all that oil..."

'_If Autobots did not get any vainer..._'

"Hey, Starscreamy!"

'_Don't call me that. Slag, I'm not listening to you all. Do your worst._' she sighed to herself.

"Remember ol' Jazz? Busted my fender back at the oil field? Now I know I ain't the only one who knows how to rock!"

'_Primus, kill me **NOW**_.'

-------

"That's _Starscream_?!"

"As far as we know, it seems that he...or she, has adopted a new body frame. But it is Starscream nonetheless."

Numerous blue optics and visors were pushing against one another to look at the small monitor of the prison bay for a glance at the curiosity. The captured femme con sat in a foetal position looking small, battered and miserable in the dark corner, subconsciously trying to place herself as far away as she can from the cameras. The Autobot leader put aside his natural curiosity to discuss her release, and the general hubbub over the monitor's was soon dispersed by Red Alert, leaving the scattering Autobot's to create scenarios predicting the seekers change in appearance. The saboteur happily took his guard shift and spun into his chair, resting his head on his hands. The old red mech stood behind the Porsche, watching patiently.

"Poor angel."

"Watchu' talkin' 'bout? She's a Decepticawn prisenerh'!"

"But she's hurt, man, I see the energon leaking outta her little leg."

"Now now Jazz, don't you be goin' soft with me aroundh'!"

"Hey man, I'm just sayin'. Maybe if we patch it up, she'll last a little longer for negotiations?"

A short pause and a grumble followed.

"...Aw, all _RWIGHT'_! But if she bolts, her leg's not the only thing that's gawna hurt!"

-------

The red and grey Autobot trudged towards the energon bar cells where the seeker sat motionless, carrying a toolbox in his hands. Irregular sized pellets were scattered around her body like petals, some of them resting on their mark. Ironhide took note of the same expression she wore when she was first caged in her own cell.

"Ah' see the Lambo' brother's got to ya' first?"

"I didn't know the Autobots had children in their army."

"They do it 'cause they're curious, that's all...most of the time they'd use sum' metal scraps. Are those-"

"-Wet?" Starscream peeled a paper pellet off her chassis and flicked the slimy glob in his direction. The red Transformer waved at the camera situated outside the cells and a few energy bars disappeared, inviting Ironhide into Starscream's prison space. Waiting for the energy bars to reappear, the older Transformer placed the toolbox next to a tense Starscream. She swiped a quick glance at the contents and frowned in disappointment when none of the tools could be used against its owner. Concentrating at the task at hand, Ironhide casually grabbed the femme con's injured leg without her approval.

"Wha-What are you doing? Get your paws off me!" she drew her leg back to herself but the red Autobot remained adamant and snatched her leg by the ankle, gripping it more forcefully.

"Hold still or ahm gonna hafta' bolt ya' to the walls if it means ya' gonna get yer busted leg fixed!" he shook her leg sternly and pressed her calf down with his free hand. Utterly disgusted and in undesirable pain, Starscream folded her arms into a tight knot and looked away from the disgruntled Autobot.

"Y' know, if my friend Jazz didn't say anythin', you'd be left here leakin', so be nice an' say thank ya' when Unca' Ahrnhide's done with ya', ya' ungrateful femme ya'!"

"'Thank ya'' for nothing, you old foggy!"

"Look, eitha' ah fix up yer leg, or we wait fer Ratchet ta' be done with th' others an' I see ya' sedated!"

Sedated was none of Starscream's options, so she held a defiant silence, twitching once in a while when Ironhide hit a sensitive circuit. Finishing the repairs by mending the open gap with a crude piece of metal, the red Transformer happily snapped his toolbox shut and stood up proudly.

"Dere'! All fixed up, and not bad if ah' say so m'self! What do ya' say now, girlie?"

The femme con slowly craned her head towards the old bot with a plastic smile on her face, and took a deep breath...

-------

"Oh, my, audio circuits..." the saboteur snapped his finger to pressed an intercom button.

"Jazz to Ratchet, come in Ratchet, ya' free yet old fella?"

"I'm not _that _old you, and stop shouting! What's the problem now?"

"Get Ironhide! He's out of Starscream's cell but he can't find his way man!"

"What happened in there?!"

"She just got up, and did a star-_screamin' _number at him!"

"A _whatsits_number?"

"I don't know man, but she screamed at him an' now he said his audio's are busted and he can't see!"

-------

Red optics trailed Prowl and Bluestreak as they escorted the red Autobot away from her cell, freely bellowing colourful language at no one with tight hands wrapped around his broken optics. His windshield spotted a distinct crack over it, and the femme con threw an acerbic smile as Bluestreak took a quick glance at her, looking away in fear she would do something worse. There were ample opportunities to escape, but Starscream held her ground. There was much fun to be had in the Ark...

-------

"You have a code for these situations?"

"Yes Megatron." The purple seeker's optics were planted to the floor in submission.

"She requests that we don't pay ransom or attempt to recollect her until four human weeks have passed." his blue counterpart spoke with a small tremble in his voice. In truth, if Skywarp hadn't bungled up his orders, the Decepticon's second-in-command would not have ended up in her current predicament, and neither would they. Luckily for them, their leader had no knowledge as to what lead Starscream to be captured, and he did not wonder. Rubic optics narrowed at the duo, the latter being smart enough to not look up.

A low rumble escaped Megatron's vocaliser, lost in his own thoughts. The aerial commander was a coward, not a snitch, and having her captured was a twisted preference over his other troops. She had ample experience in worming her way out of certain difficulties she faced, even if Megatron was one of them. Observing her behaviour for the past few weeks, the Decepticon leader saw her using her more feminine traits coupled with her usual guile to get the results she wanted. She looked a little shallow at first, but careful scrutiny revealed that underneath all her wiring was Starscream intelligently exploiting her opportunistic tendencies. Assuming she had an agenda to fulfill in the Ark to benefit the Decepticon cause, Megatron would not stress so much if it wasn't Starscream inside the Ark.

A throaty cough brought the Decepticon leader out of his thoughts to the two seekers, standing dead still in their places, and the surrounding Decepticon's that could still function after today's battle.

"...Three and a half weeks. If she doesn't come back or has procured nothing, you _both_ will suffer with her, make sure of that."

The Decepticon troops took a step back in unison from Thundercracker and Skywarp, leaving them feeling vulnerable to Megatron's mercy.

-------

"You're supposed to be up _here_ watching Starscream, Jazz!"

"I know Red, but if you wanna really keep an eye on her-"

"Unacceptable! I cannot have you leave your post! Optimus will have my fender if you don't stay up here-!"

"Look Red, if anything goes wrong, I'll walk the flamin' coals man, don't worry!"

"Don't worry? _Don't worry?! Jazz, JAZZ! WHERE ARE YOU GOING-! ..._Fine! Do what you want! But if anyone finds out at this time there's no escape! There are only a handful of Autobots on guard at night and the Decepticons aren't planning anything so if you get into trouble it won't be hard to find the bot who left his post (I won't know what to do how does Prowl put up with this...)"

The Porsche whistled a matching tune to Red Alert's ranting fading down the halls of the Ark. Listening to the echo bouncing off the walls, Jazz took the cue to whistle louder for his own amusement, changing pitch as he entered the elevator, and blowing a more jumpy beat when he reached the prison cells. Mimicking his volume control, the Porsche bent at a perfect degree, and stopped whistling when he peeped through the energy bars. There sat the magnificent second-in-command with the unchanged stony visage, glaring steadfastly at the walls in front of her.

"Hello, angel."

"...I know you're awake, super-fly. I can see those optics glowing a very, very, bright red! Trying to burn holes in them walls to escape maybe?"

Starscream curtly replied with a human swear word.

"WOAH! Now that's harsh. I can leave, but I don't think we Transformers are made fer' _that_ kinda thing..." Jazz chuckled to himself and threw his back onto the wall facing the cell, sliding to the floor and hitting the ground with a crumpled thud. A few awkward minutes whistled by, and the seeker scooted clumsily to bare her battered wings to the saboteur for a change. Jazz's grin only grew wider.

"Why did you ask your friend to fix me, Autobot?"

"Why? _Why?_" the cheery Autobot exclaimed, making her sound blissfully ignorant. "That 'Ahrnhide' is the same bot thought me to treat the ladies with respect, and on behalf of my good n' grumpy friend, he's sorry he buried your behind in a giant landslide (even though you hit a high F on our audios...)"

"_Charming_." her voice oozed with sarcasm. Is this Autobot so bored he came down here to kill her vocally? A few breems past by, his machinery rumbling underneath his hood in tune with the slow hum of her system. She turned around to take a glance at him, and Jazz immediately gave his friendliest wave and smiled. '_Oh great. They've sent a retardobot to amuse me._'

"Go away Au-"

"Autobot, _Jazz_." he rolled the end of his name with extra pizzaz. The femme con raised her light body to its feet and angrily stomped towards the bars, pausing halfway to notice that the Porsche had reinacted her actions. Growing less patient with the Jazz, she held her arms akimbo and glared at him with wings tilted in an intimidating stance, only to invite the saboteur to do the same, even raising his door panels in mock imitation of her with a cheeky pout to his face.

"_Graaaaah!!!_" Decepticon and Autobot threw their arms into the air and tromped around.

This is it, she thought. This it the way Autobot's torture their prisoners. No wonder the Stunticons broke down after half a day in the Ark. It was not the latest technological hacking equipment used to probe into their memory circuits for information, or the application of psychological bullying into revealing Decepticon secrets. It was this one Autobot Jazz and his eccentricity! He tilted his head at an angle to look at her, and if she could see behind those visors, she swore one of his optics was raised.

An uncomfortable taut feeling shot through her circuits just by looking at him, and she knew why. She can't see his optics. Transformers with visors were a normal occurrence, but this Autobot's use of an optic accessory made her curious. There was an uncanny glow emitting behind it, and the red jet was itching to find out. Pulling a face got his attention, and she quickly folded her arms around her chest. So did he. She folded them behind her head. That wasn't hard for him. Lowered their shoulders, made their wings / door panels lift, shrug and drop. She made a fool of herself by trotting around the prison like jolly turbofox, and stopped in close proximity to the bars, hoping he would be gullible enough to-

"Girl, I'm not _that_ stupid."

Slag.

"How many times have I played this game? Well, I've gotta say, not many Decepticon's think of doin' what you're doing, but kudos to you-"

In a flash of yellow and white, the red jet made an unprecedented attack and flitted a slim arm out of the bars, successfully swatting Jazz's visors clean off his face. The force of the energy bars violently snapped at her bodily contact with a blinding jolt and slapped the screaming jet to the floor. Waiting for the prison walls to stop rolling, Starscream straightened her shaking arms to push her numb chassis off the floor. A scratched pair of visors got her attention beneath her, and the Decepticon wasted no time looking at the saboteur, who was just helping himself off the floor. His white arms rested on his knees, Jazz shook his head to clear his neural circuits and looked up utterly confounded at what she did.

"You-!"

Maroon optics stared in disbelief at Starscream and a pair of visors in her cell.

"You're a Decepticon?!"

"...Oh crap..."

-------

A/N: DA DA DUN!!!! Oh, my, Primus. I love Autobot Jazz, and yeah, some writing about him too!


	9. Chapter 8: Seeing Purple II

**Chapter 8: Seeing Purple II**

A/N: Am I excited? Maaaybe ;) Finally got Microsoft Word back again! I hate not having a spell checker 'cause that means I have to be a neurotic perfectionist having to check my chapters over and over again! I hesitated putting up this chapter up until I got my spelling checked…Lamborghini XP! WARGH! The words hurt me! Thank you for your reviews! (Clasps hands and bow)

-------

Jazz's wine coloured optics glowered smoothly despite the previous actions. A sterner expression washed over the Autobot's face and he straightened his posture, walking to the bars and presenting an outstretched palm to the seeker.

"Give them back, girl."

Without leaving her optics from Jazz's own, she patted the floor for the blue visors and clutched her new found prize to her chest. Autobots and Decepticons alike were able to have blue optics, however, in the recent war taking place, red optics were a definite sign of Decepticon allegiance. The large variety of optic colours slowly became a rarity, but the facts were translucid: blue for Autobots, red for Decepticons. Starscream didn't know whether she should feel glad to find a potential ally or appalled at a dubious traitor. The Transformer outside the cell sighed, rummaging a hand into his sub compartment and flicked out a spare pair, clipping them to his face.

"...You're a Decepticon."

"Nope."

"Then?" the red jet cocked her head at the cameras. "Whoever's watching knows now-!"

"It's set to mute. And I don't have optics on the back of my head, angel."

When Jazz referred to her new moniker, it meant that he wanted to agitate her, or coax any response for that matter. She hastily opened her cockpit and cramped the blue visors in, making sure the Porsche had no chance of reclaiming them back.

"...You wanna know why I'm an Autobot?"

"I don't need to know when I can see the obvious, traitor."

"...You could say that." Jazz strode across the room. "Lucky you. Now I've got to tell you the wonderful magical story 'bout how Jazz got his pretty eyes to look at the pretty ladies."

"Like I care."

"If you didn't, then why'd you take my shades in the first place, senorita?"

"...You just want to know why I'm a femme con, don't you?"

"Don't we all?"

-------

"SSHT!" a large blue hand pressed Skywarp's head to the gravel. The aggravated purple jet responded unkindly by pulling Thundercracker's foot off the rocky holding, and clinging desperately to Skywarp's ankle, they both tumbled down the rocky slope silhouetted in the clear moonlight. Landing in an untidy pile of metallic limbs, the Cassetticon shook his head and censured them in a hiss.

"(You guy's aren't exactly helpin' me spy on th' Ark! Are you tryin' to blow our cover or are you geeks just plain stupid?!)"

"(Shaddup you purple pest or I'll grind ya'!)"

"(You're purple too, Sky_warphead_!)"

"(We only want to know when Starscream's comin' out, Rumble.)"

"(And _that's_ what Rumble's here for! Why don't you jet's jes' fly back, okay! If I get anything, I'll _personally_ tell ya' first if it makes ya' feel any better!)"

"(...Promise?)"

"(Yeah, yeah, promise with my circuits tied so my afterburners don't get fried and all that! Now shoo! Get-!)

Skywarp lifted his body off the ground and grumbled, shaking the desert sand from his joints. Following Thundercracker to the skies, Skywarp made a rude noise when they were out of radio contact with the Cassetticon.

"Who's that shrimp tellin' us ta' 'shoo'? I oughta step on 'em when he gets back! Starscream's _our_ team mate, right TC? TC?"

"...TC?"

"...PRIMUS SLAGGIT _ANSWER _ME WHEN I'M TALKIN' TA' YA', YA' STUPID BLUE FREAK!"

"WHAT? _WHAT_! I was listening!"

-------

"I was doin' what I do best-"

"Being a weirdo?"

"And a saboteur, angel. I was created for doin' just that by my creators, who kinda liked being Decepticon's too. Remember Sector 84?"

"I wasn't there, but the 'noble' Autobots destroyed one of our cities. Decepticons and Neutrals were massacred into piles of scrap metal. Best part of all, only twenty-three percent of the city's population were Decepticons."

"Those guys invading '84 weren't Autobots when they did that, not anymore."

"Autobot propaganda at it's best. It's a pity your shallow sense of idealism has blinded even the most intelligent Transformers."

"I grew up there, rollin' in the streets, havin' fun..."

"...As an idiot."

"Wow, you're really classy, you know? Anyway, when I joined the Autobots as a double agent...I found out about what was _gonna_ happen to it..."

"...Managed to, 'roll' your friends out in time, Jazz-"

Jazz's silence told her otherwise. She kept quiet to wait for the saboteur to continue, which he did after a tense pause.

"...After that, I couldn't go back. If I did, I'd go straight to the smelting pools. I'd no where to go. All the slag that happened got me spinnin', and soon, Optimus Prime caught me. But he heard my song, and gave me a chance (after servin' my time). I could change my optics, but then, for the guys in '84, until I do somethin' better, I'll be seeing purple."

"You must have told this story a hundred times for it to sound so _brilliant_."

"Only once, angel. That makes you the third person to know this."

"...I suppose you want to know my little 'story' now? Although I have to say it's no big secret like yours."

"Anything to pass the time I guess."

"And stop calling me angel."

-------

"It's already been a week! When's is she gonna bust herself out?! If she's too low on energon, she can't fly all the way back here!"

The blue jet did his best to pace around the mini-Junkion habitat that was Skywarp's room. The purple jet happily ignored Thundercracker's pleas for Starscream, hugging his legs and resting on a hill of rubbish conveniently piled in front of a glaring monitor (which was also resting undisturbed on some off-coloured foreign rubble). Glazed optics followed the irregular movement on the current program, with his mouth chewing in a bovine manner on some new-found Earth material. Thundercracker only ceased his inane ranting when his foot met / accidentally kicked an unknown animal, scuttling into the darkness of the rubbish squirreled away in Skywarp's room.

"...What are you watching?"

"Dunno. Smurf's." _Chew, chew, chew._

"...What's in your _mouth_?"

"Dunno." _Chup-chup-chup_- "'fwound it inna' 'uman 'candy' fhlactly. They eat thish stuff-" _Chup-chup-chup-chup_- "I've got like, a billionf in my motfh an' it's got paper in 'em too."

Thundercracker made a face. "...That's disgusting."

"I know-" _chup-chup-chup_, "-but look-"

Skywarp took a deep breath through his nose and blew the air to his mouth, making an odd pink bubble expand from his lips. Peering closer to the flexible substance, Thundercracker leapt back when it popped unexpectedly, covering Skywarp's nose. Looking cross-eyed at his results, the purple seeker snorted in childish delight.

"Eh-heh-heh-heh! Hey hey hey, TC, does Starscream remind you of Smurfette?"

"...What the _slag_ is a 'Smurfette'? And when is she coming _back?!_"

-------

"How long's it been, Red?"

"You mean how long she's been in there or long how she was in that position?"

Inferno glanced at Starscream's still body, lying on the ground of her cell. Curled in a sleeping position, Inferno tilted his head quizzically at the Decepticon female. He would never have asked himself this question before, but now that the physical answer was apparent to him, the red fire truck posed the topic to his nervous friend.

"Hey Red, ever wonder how a' seeker sleeps on their sides?"

"Now that I think of it, I've never seen one do that before. I guess their wings are able to bend that way, made to be flexible."

"What if they wanna turn on their other side?"

"Then I-I guess they have to choose one to lie on or get up I suppose. Funny though."

"How is she, Red?"

"Optimus!" Red Alert spun round his chair and stood up to greet the Autobot leader. Inferno gave a firm salute before the trio continued to observe the lifeless seeker. When she collapsed nine and a half days ago, Red Alert presumed the Decepticon was low on energy, and unable to function awake, her system tried to salvage what energy reserves she had left and shut her off into stasis lock. Also suspecting her of play acting, Red Alert might have called Ratchet if she wasn't Starscream, and left her to continue playing her game by herself.

After a few minutes of silent concentration, the monitor spied two red and yellow Autobots, leaning from the prison cell's corner to look at the femme con. Armed with a thin metal straw, Sunstreaker fired the first round of paper pellets at the inanimate seeker, clumsily ducking out of sight of the red jet to reload. Making the second wave, Sideswipe forced another moist glob from his own pea shooter at the female Decepticon. Producing equally unsuccessful results, the two Lamborghini's immediately huddled themselves into serious discussion, allowing their leader ample time to grab the microphone speaker next to the security director.

"Sunny Side," the nonchalant voice of authority boomed over the p.a. The duo in the monitor jumped liked frightened rabbits and tripped over each other, quickly dashing out of sight. Chuckling heartily, the Autobot leader shared the joke with his troops when the sound of a thick cough burbled into their audios.

A thin line of energon streamed into the thick coagulated pool from Starscream's mouth, and the Autobot leader immediately radioed for Ratchet's medical attention.

-------

A/N: Nooooo! Starscream does remind me of Smurfette though…same thing with Arcee, so pink. I know Jazz keeps his speakers on his waist, so I couldn't decide where his magical sub compartment is! XP


	10. Chapter 9: And a Little B

**Chapter 9: And A Little B…**

A/N: Hmm, I might not follow stuff that happened in chronological order to be honest, because I'm quite happy and delusional in my own little world. ;) More Autobots! …But I hate Huffer. I want him to jump in a pool of joy-joy rainbow juice.

DID - damsel in distress

-------

A selected group of Autobots watched with grim fascination as Ratchet's hands shut the seekers chest compartment. The medic scanned the room knowing well that all the faces wore the same predicted expression of confusion, and his conclusive finding would not answer Optimus' previous question in full.

"There's nothing wrong with her, Prime."

"I don't understand Ratchet," the Autobot leader clarified his uncertainty, "Red, Inferno and I saw Starscream vomit energon. Red Alert said that she did not move for many days…is there any other medical explanation for her strange illness?"

"I hope it ain't contagious," Huffer reminded his colleagues of his endless pessimism, "-cause if she came here to give us some sorta virus-"

"It ain't a virus, Huffer. Like I said, there's nothing wrong with her. Nothing wrong physically…" Ratchet defended his professional analysis as a doctor.

"What if it's a Decepticon trick to escape her cell?" Prowl spoke. Feigning sickness was a common lie to play, especially when it involved captive Decepticons, but the energy bound hands and feet of the current captive gave her little chance to run. Flying was an option she could not afford on the account of her low energon levels, continuously dropping at precariously dangerous levels since her irregular expulsion of energon. A sluggish hum grumbled from the red seeker's machinery, doing its least to keep her alive. Hacking another thick stream of energon, the medic quickly took a concentrated vial of energon and poured the light blue contents it into a makeshift drip attached to the seekers fuel processor.

Many Autobots would be truly sickened at a Decepticon prisoner's welfare being cared for, especially one as infamous as Starscream, but their Autobot leader was not known to simply disregard life, and watching one suffer was enough to convince their leader to help her, Decepticon or not. Regaining some light into her optics, Starscream weakly croaked on her own words, barely audible to those around her, and struggled with a tremendous amount of effort to lift her shaking hands.

"Skh-….(huh)……(ah)…(a…ir)……..(air)…."

"Air?" the medic made clear of her words.

"(Skhh-)…(ski)….(sk…y)…..(huh)…"

She hands fell limp to her side and Optimus Prime shook his head at her pitiable conditions. Ratchet took note of her words, but his second conclusion would not be so clear or believable. An impossible theory, it was not.

"Um, Prime…I think our little Decepticon here, _might_ be suffering from an extreme form of claustrophobia."

"But how can that be?" Prowl questioned him immediately. "We've had seeker prisoners before. Their first complaint was being caged-"

"I think this is Starscream's _own_ problem, Prowl." Ratchet interrupted. "There's nothing wrong with her internal and external systems, but this psychological glitch in her cerebro-circuits is telling her otherwise, and she's suffering a withdrawal. She could die from severe energy deficiency."

"So..." Prime's deep voice rang clear in the medical bay. "If we bring her outside, she would be temporarily 'cured'?"

The very notion of that idea was already bombarded with sceptical opinions, and the Autobots held a guarded silence to comprehend the situation. Here lay a dying seeker, suffering from her own ideas of cabin fever. A highly valuable (if marginally tolerable) aerial commander, who coincidentally is the second-in-command of the Decepticon army. Letting her out would be the equivalent of setting a vulture free, the very want of any detainee. But if her symptoms were real, and Optimus Prime withheld the order to give her a promising glimpse of her instinctual home, he might as well shoot her point blank in the face, and her leader's inactivity was further proof that her condition was not unreal.

"(Dh-)……(Don't)….(wh-….)…(d…i…e……)…"

"….(Plea-)…."

Huffer folded his arms disconsolately. When talking could kill her, she still begs!

"…Ratchet, radio Ironhide and Jazz. They were in charge of guarding Starscream, so they would know how to handle her."

"But Prime-!"

"Have them escort her outside…after you remove her wings from her back, of course."

-------

Two pairs of red and white feet marched hurriedly to Ratchet's domain, making an odd clomping-thumping beat on the floor.

"Ah' can't believe we're gonna jes' let 'er auwt!"

"Ironhide, you heard the boss! She's dyin' and if we don't do anything, she's gonna meet her creator!"

"Ah' bet he's ugly."

"Ugly or not, you know Prime. And the little lady' sufferin'…you don't wanna see her suffer, do ya'?"

"…Awwwh! C'MAUN!"

"Yeah, _c'mon_! There's a D.I.D. in need or a R.E.S-cuing!"

-------

"Gosh, she's gotten too laight!"

"She's in serious need of a drink, man."

"Yeah? Well ah' say we don't give her that."

"'Better get her out in the open, and fast!"

"…(D…add…y…)…"

"_DADDEH?!_ Now she's _really_ losin' it!"

"Eh, maybe you remind her of her creator…old enough to be him maybe, look like him (maybe-)"

"_Yew callin' me **UGLY**?!"_

"Chill Ironman! No one said you were!"

"…Yeu carry her."

"Wait! Where you goin', man?"

"…Gonna ask Phrime t' give her a bit of energon. Give her some weight, maybeh'."

"…Ah…Ironhide…cotton heart!"

"_**WHERT** **YEU'** **SAY?!**_"

"Nothin' man! (Eh-heh!)"

-------

His blue visors reflected the lazy sun sinking into the horizon, the unchanging rocky cliffs and their bodies lit into a fiery red by the warm light. Her head hung limply on Jazz's side, cradling between her shoulder and his chest frame. Gently nudging her with his shoulders from her unwanted slumber, the Porsche considered her recovery to only work if her optics were open and functioning, but the pale blank stare did not mimic the tender rays of the sun. Jazz took in the sight of the unconscious female; he was probably the only Transformer to see Starscream looking strangely serene, and not screeching any order from her raspy vocals. Drowning in the gulf of silence, the Porsche sighed in quiet relief when an affectionate breeze brushed through them, teasing their sensors. Anything to kill the soundless atmosphere.

A tiny sound piped form Jazz's arms, and he looked down at the red jet to find her…smiling.

"…….(J…az…z…)….."

"…Thank Primus!"

Jazz almost crashed his head into her if he had forgotten who she was, and settled with sinking his whole body towards the ground. Her optics sparkled like a thousand constellations, heightened by the renewed vigour of the sun's rays being swallowed into her gaze, squinting when Jazz ran a black thumb to rub the sleep away.

"…Angels don't die…and I would have forgotten that if you'd never woken up, girl."

She blinked lazily in reply and tilted her head to look away from him, a soft smile gracing her face. She looked almost bashful, letting a forced chuckle escape her lips. The red seeker drank in the cool winds blowing life into her systems, and the rigid hum slowly grew into a more constant sound, albeit a little listless.

"…Whatever it is…I'm, _kinda_ glad you didn't go, uh…I think…" Jazz looked to one side when she comfortably nestled herself into his form. Maybe she was too groggy or lethargic to comprehend her own actions, but Jazz felt no less than awkward at her unusual affection when she ringed her arms around his neck. The energy cuffs brusquely smacked the back of his head, drawing him closer to her own blissfully dazed expression.

"Ah….um….I wonder what's takin' Ironhide so, long…do you…?"

The jet giggled and shook her head quizzically, surprising Jazz with an embrace. The Porsche was naturally amiable, and his playful flirting with the opposite sex was quite innocent, but concerning Starscream's peculiar behaviour, the saboteur thought that maybe, just maybe, he has been away from female Transformers for too long. Taking note of the sky turning a darker shade of blue, he almost tripped over his own feet, picking himself off the ground with the femme con still latched onto his strained neck, and made his way back to the Ark. If Transformer's could change colour, Jazz could imagine his face being a dark red by now, and looking at his reflection from Starscream' paintjob only fuelled his running imagination.

"Can you talk, angel?"

"…(Yes)…(you…pig)…"

"Har-de-har-har, oink. What's wrong with you anyway? I've never seen any sickness like this before…"

A sober expression washed over the seeker's face, and he stopped walking down the halls. Hesitating for a few seconds, the female Decepticon leaned into Jazz's audio receptors and whispered, ever so softly, in fear of someone overhearing her.

"(It-)…(It's called)…."

"If you scream in my ears angel, I'm ready to turn 'em off."

"…(A…little)….(B)…."

And on cue of the letter 'S', the saboteur saw himself falling to the floor with the seeker, and nothing else.

-------

"Jazz, can you hear me?"

'…_.Oh slag, Optimus is gonna kill me now…'_

A grey hand lifted Jazz's head off the ground, and the saboteur found his hands restrained. Looking down with scrambled vision, Jazz saw his hands were bound with energon cuffs between the static.

"(Slaggit…)…"

"….THE BIRD'S FLOWN THE COOP-!"

Jazz shot up and smacked his head straight into Ironhide's, knocking himself back down again.

Down the entrance of the Ark, Wheeljack picked up the energon cuffs meant for Starscream's legs, and shook his head.

"They don't make them like they used to…"

A small eruption echoed from inside the Ark, and Wheeljack found himself under scrutiny from his fellow Autobots.

"H-Hey! It wasn't me, honest! I was here all the time!"

-------

"Y'sure you can y' fly 'Screamer?"

"You don't see my feet on the ground, do you Rumble?"

"Hey, I was just wonderin'…you were in 'dere fer' so long, I thought you'd ran outta energy or somethin'."

"Don't worry, the Autobot medic has given me enough to go back to headquarters…I think…"

"You gonna go back an' get yer' wings? What about yer weapons?"

"My weapons were set to self-destruct when I was captured, and in….half an hour, no less. I hope they didn't store it with anything _flammable_."

"…I do miss my wings though…call the Constructicon's to get a nice pair ready for me, will you?"

"Yes ma'am!"

-------

A/N: Don't mess with the 'Screamer! And don't call her angel ;) Ah lurve writnin' Ahrnhide's dia-logue! XDDD He's a cool metal aft-kickin' grampa! Or uncle! 8/ And for those who don't know yet, BS means bullshit. Yay! Another mind corrupted! XD


	11. Chapter 10: Mach 1

**Chapter 10: Mach 1**

A/N: Man, I got work tomorrow…today! Today! Meh. I'm still writing, phew. Probably won't be updating as much 'cause of the mental block (mmm…tofu). Thank you for reviewing again!

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Starscream's room was meticulously clean. So clean that a Transformer didn't need mirrors if it wanted a three-hundred and sixty degree view of themselves. No object or furniture was out of place unless Starscream was using said object, and when she was done, it would be tidied and tucked back into the exact same angle it should be. A neurotically perfect ninety degrees following the invisible contours of the room. If no one knew who or had any whereabouts of its inhabitant, the room looked like a show room for the elite.

Enter Skywarp. And exit.

Now, enter Starscream.

"……**_SKYWAAAAAAAAARP!!!!_**"

Drinking his energon cube in the mess hall, the purple and black seeker thought he heard someone screeching his name in a sharp tone only the aerial commander possessed. But she was being held captive by the Autobot army. Rumble had not mentioned anything lately, and Skywarp was known for diligently ignoring night calls from anyone but Megatron. Maybe she came back at night. Maybe she didn't. The seeker looked down at his energon cube and scowled. He was given less rations today. But his cube was of the same measurement as everyone else's, save the Cassetticons and the larger Triple Changers. Oh, wait. He forgot he drank some a few minutes ago. Shrugging to himself, Skywarp took another healthy swig, and licked his lips.

Refreshing.

The large canteen doors almost disappeared as they opened to invite a chair flying violently at sound breaking speeds to smash the purple jet into the wall. Skywarp had no chance to blink before his head was embedded through the wall, letting a small trickle of water spurted from the hole, and clapping her slim blue fingers to rid herself of any dirt, Starscream growled under her breath. Judging by the pure raw energy fuelled by her anger from the aerial commander, everyone thought it best to not look up, in case she burned holes into them with her eyes. Until the floor-branding feet could not be heard anymore, the Decepticons in the mess hall slowly looked up, and started random conversations between themselves. Interrupting the scene, the p.a. crackled and a familiar voice cut through the tense air.

"_AND CLEAN UP THAT MESS!!!_"

-------

A pair of blue feet retraced its steps, jogging back to the aerial commander's room. Thundercracker was elated as soon as Rumble announced her arrival. Their aerial commander is finally back! Why was she there for so long? How did she get out? Did she make life hell for the Autobots? (He probably knew the answer to that!) Even when she was not plotting to take Megatron's place one way or another, the red seeker was known for her instantaneous ingenuity, and she must have an engine-splitting story to tell! Inflating her ego was fun when everyone got a laugh out of it.

He made several attempts to radio his commander with no success, so she must be in her room, most certainly exhausted from her break out. Their leader wasted no time calling her for a report on her little 'stay' at the Autobot camp, but Thundercracker held a small inkling of hope that she would be willing enough to tell him. After all, he was one of the rare few Decepticons who genuinely cared for their comrades like he did, even for Starscream. He loved her-

Thundercracker pretended he didn't even _think_ that word.

Okay, so he grew fond of her these past few weeks. She was more than a friend and a wing mate to him, but he didn't care what others would think. He couldn't help doing his best for those close to him, and Thundercracker truly cared for her. He asked here whether she was all right when her scrunched up face said otherwise. He listened to her babble even when no one cared, and he missed her when she was captured, each day that went by fed his worries. He wanted her to know that she wasn't truly alone in this universe.

But first and foremost, he had to know how she was doing _right_ now. And when the time was right, he would bring her to a quiet place, and treading carefully with his words, he would let her know how brilliant she was and how she made his fuel pump skip. Maybe when she was free, they could go flying at night, careening and rolling in the dark sky, just the two of them. Trying to recite his thoughts to her and make it sound as beautiful in words was a little bit harder-

"Slag off TC, I am tired."

..Okay, she wasn't in the best of moods today. Conversations with Megatron usually left the red seeker feeling empty and dejected, and today was no different. But at least…

"…Um, 'Screamer, tell us what happened when you're feeling better, 'kay-"

"Shut up. Slag off."

"…Okay. Well, when you're free I'd like to talk to you sometime alone-"

If Thundercracker didn't jump out of its way in time, the doors to her room might have snapped off his leg.

-------

"So, how was your little vacation at the Ark? Pleasant"

The red jet sneered at her leaders derisive comments and snapped back with her own brand of cynicism.

"I was gone for nine days and that's the _best_ you can come up with? Oh, _spare_ me, mighty Megatron."

Starscream's fractious mood slowly manifested in her irascible trot around the war room, pacing faster and faster along an invisible line. Megatron merely smirked in his chair at her short-tempered reaction, and the aerial commander knew what her leader was asking for between his sardonic comments. She spoke of her accomplishments whilst in captivity, not out of fidelity but pure contempt for her leader. She never failed to remind anyone, superior or underling, that she was more capable than their lukewarm expectations of her.

"If you really must know," she cooed sarcastically, "some part of the Ark (I don't know where), has been 'mushroomed', so the Autobot's would most certainly be under-staffed for the moment."

"Good work, Starscream."

"_Thank_ you." She hiss and turned to look at her leader with the look of feigned indifference. His seemingly likable attitude towards her within these few weeks have sparked a guarded curiosity in the red seeker, for she was more accustomed to the Decepticon leader either barking orders, or just hitting her on sight, whether she has done anything or not.

'_Is it because of my femininity? Maybe if I goad that bullet head he'll give me some 'answers'…_' Her body shook trying to stifle her laughter and she turned to Megatron with a plastic grin that touched her audios. '_All in the name of good fun and games…_'

Taking a more alluring stance, the femme con strode to her leader in deliberating steps. Making a small guess as to where their conversation would lead them, Megatron raised an optic and reserved his words, observing her blue finger slide along his chair.

"_Dear_ leader…" she crooned softly to his audios with her so-called sincerity. Nudging the chair with her hip, she stretched herself comfortably around her leader like a pedigree cat waiting for treats. The chair's occupant grunted to himself and her sensuality.

"It's amazing what a little change can do in your _life_ Starscream…" Megatron trivialised. "So you've 'charmed' some of my troops. Think _you_ can throw _me_ under your shallow little spells? Hah! Compared to the experience I've had with, shall I say, _other_ females, you're a mere amateur."

Her leader shot a curt side glance at her, finishing with a blunt threat. "Get off my chair."

Avoiding his glare, she did as she was told…

…Only to float back to his left arm. She traced her hands across his helmet, drawing lightly on his chin, and the grey Decepticon found himself looking straight into her optics.

"What's wrong? Is Megatron afraid to play a little game then?"

A satisfied smile crossed his lips and the larger Transformer stood up. A firm pair of black hands grasped her shoulders, slowly leading her back to the wall, and she staggered back. Holding her wrists and guiding them over her own head, Starscream felt a surge of anticipation roll from her dangling feet to her head when Megatron leaned closer to her face, just past her cheek, and spoke to her in a subdued tone.

"(…What makes you think, Starscream, that your little games would work on me, hm? You have only been a femme con for a few weeks.)"

"(So give me a chance, oh _mighty_ leader…we both want something from each other...)" A small purr escaped her vocalisers. "(…I want power, and you are the embodiment of the Decepticon leadership. You want a _good_, **_loyal_** seeker, one that won't question your word, being the Decepticon law itself.)"

She paused to let him ponder, and the grey Decepticon shook in amusement, and brushed her cheek lightly with his own.

"(…You may be my second-in-command for many vorns, but your experience as a female does not even satisfy one human year. If you think I am willingly play these, _stupid_ games of yours Starscream, you'd better take note, that you shouldn't dabble with something or some_one_ if you're not afraid of getting hurt…)"

"...And Megatron fears _nothing_."

Starscream felt a jolt and heard her back shriek as it scoured across the wall, leaving red and white paint marks in its wake. Landing head first, she swiftly threw herself on her back to receive her leader's foot, swinging against her cheek guards. Impulsively looking for the exit, the aerial commander helped herself up to the door hastily.

"Get lost, you fool. And don't embarrass yourself like this to me _again_."

The affronted seeker threw a rude glance, and darted from her leader's optics.

-------

A few hours had passed, leaving the seeker with nothing else better to do, lying on her side of her recharge bed staring icily at the wall, tending to her head and her wounded pride. Megatron was excellent at dealing humiliation to Starscream, whether she was in the company of others or themselves. Rubbing the side of her face, she was not about to see the Constructicons about her visage. She was just too piqued to see _any_ Transformer for that matter, hating to put up with the questions or the jeers about her cosmetic injury. Fortunately, her face got nicked by the tip of his feet and it did not take the full brunt of the attack, only scarring the surface.

Still, it was humiliating. And TC being overtly supportive didn't help either.

Thank Primus for doors.

A soft hiss escaped from her door and Starscream groaned.

"Just slag _off_ **_TC!_**"

The Transformer ignored her requests and closed the door behind him, locking it from the inside.

-------

A/N: Man, the Starscream Olympics has started :P I found another fanfic with the same idea that Starscream's a girl! YAY! JOY! And weirdness!


	12. Chapter 11: Lingo

**Chapter 11: Lingo**

A/N: Updates are going to be irregular, but I've got the story (kinda) figured out (I think). Yay! Gonna be going to Aussie land in a few weeks! Holiday! Then back to shitty work…uuuuhhhh…yaaaaay… Oh yeah, I might have to change the story rating in the future…there won't be anything HORRIBLY bad (other than the typos I find) but, _maybe_. Hmm, this one has bad language…then again, it's not the first time I've done it ;)

-------

Two F-15's cruised leisurely at their own speeds, holding a loose air formation. Without their aerial commander to lead, the purple jet took the liberties with a complacent flight pattern around his blue wing mate, goading the latter to voice his disapproval when he performed a number of acrobatic barrel rolls around the blue seeker. He also found entertainment in challenging himself, just to see how many rotations he could do around his wing mate at an unsafe close proximity without knocking into him. Seven was a good number, but Skywarp was aiming for double digits.

"For the love of-! Can you just-! Just stop it 'Warp! It's not funny! Get-! _SHOO!_"

"Woo-_hoo! _**E-LEVEN**, _baby!_ I did eleven! Did ya' see that, huh TC? Did ya' see? Did ya' see? TC, you saw that right, you did!" the purple seeker gaily cruised back into formation to get his equilibrium. "Who's the con, man? Who's the _con_! That's right baby, it's **ME!** **SKYWARP!** 'An the crowd whoops for 'WARP! Oop! Oop! _YEAH!_ …Now you gotta buy me a cube."

A disgruntled noise came from the blue seeker. "I'm _paying_ to get annoyed!"

"Pretty much. Would you like to purchase the full version now, or take the thirty day trial period?"

"You've got a glitch in your circuits, you glithcy...glitch." Thundercracker finished his insult lamely and his comrade jokingly nudged their wings together. Finding stability in his circuits, Skywarp asked Thundercracker the question that had been clinging onto his vocalisers the minute his optics blinked online from recharge.

"So…you told the 'Screamer yet?"

Skywarp inwardly frowned when heard a small sigh escape the blue seekers communicator.

"Not yet, 'Warp. First time I tried, Starscream was not in a good mood, and she slammed the door in my face." The purple jet made a small groan like Thundercracker's pain was almost physical. "Then I thought, might as well let it out now y'know, so I just…barged in." Skywarp let out a low chuckle at his wing mate's audacity.

"Ooh hoo-hoo! TC, taking the reins! Why are you still here today, huh? Huh? How'd ya' manage to live?"

"She wasn't in her room."

"What! But I thought-"

"I didn't go back in just then. I walked around for a bit, trying to sort out what I was gonna say, then, when I came back…she wasn't there." Skywarp was mentally slapping his head at his blue wing mate. Why must he always hesitate? It's not like they didn't know Starscream, who always had _something_ riding up her thrusters. It all boiled down to her own uninhibited arrogance being the root of her misery, than again, she was more incensed than malcontent these days. The purple seeker's Spartan thoughts ignored Thundercracker's own methodical approach in admitting his feelings for her. To alter the concrete bond they shared as a team and as friends gave the blue jet enough reasons to feel a little guilty. A quick swat to the wing took Thundercracker back to the present.

"Hey, we better get this stuff back to Megatron. I hate carrying explosive food."

"You mean Energon cubes?" Thundercracker queried.

"_What_ever, TC! Remember the last time one of 'em Autoboobs shot me in the jet belly? Almost _DIED_ man!" Skywarp's short attention span took its turn to change the subject. "Then we can find Princess 'Screamer for ya'!"

"Hey, don't-wait, what do you mean, find her? What's happened to St-" the blue jets voice shot up to new levels of alarm.

"Cool yer jets, blue boy. She wasn't in her room, that's all. I knocked, I radioed her, nothin'. Maybe she's too pissed ta' care."

"What…is she-…is she okay?"

"Hey, I'll help ya' find her, 'kay? She's probably still in the base. The roster says so. Geez, you're so desperate to make her Mrs. _Thundercracka'-_"

The purple seeker soon found himself flying upside down when Thundercracker slapped his wing.

-------

"Skywarp did not contaminate the current supply of energon?"

Soundwave's question was returned with a raised optic by Skywarp. The blue Seeker gave a firm nod at the masked communications officer.

"Good." The cassette tape deck turned his back to them, data pad firmly in hand and mentally counting the number of compressed cubes that were collected, a sure signal that their energy raid task was complete. A purple foot flicked at Frenzy, making him stumble carelessly and scattering the energon cubes he was carrying onto the floor. Getting Soundwave's attention, the navy blue Transformer turned around quicker than the jets expected, to check that Frenzy was still in one piece and a little peeved. Whipping his head to the culprit, the purple seeker pretended he knew nothing and took a unhurried stroll to the exit, leaving Thundercracker under the burning glow from Soundwave's red visors.

"Skywarp was wondering where Starscream is." Thundercracker blurted.

"If you want to know where Starscream is, she is currently in Decepticon headquarters." Soundwave answered plainly in an enforced tone and returned to work. Exiting the storage room, the blue seeker immediately reprimanded his purple counterpart in a fluster.

"We don't bully the little guys when we wanna work with Soundwave, you moron!"

Skywarp just shrugged. "Hey, everyone hates them. They're small like humans and they aren't even Transformer _kids_. Screw the midgets, slaggin' monkeys with wings-"

"C'mon, let's find just her." Thundercracker lifted his weary head from his hands and patrolled around the grim Decepticon base. "You take the south and I'll take the north, and we'll work our way up. Keep your communication lines open, _please_."

"Yeah yeah, Skywarp and Thundercracker, going off to find Princess 'Screamer of Lovely-Voice Land…"

-------

Thundercracker was wondering the quieter halls of the Nemesis when his communicator blinked wildly.

"'Warp, where is she?"

"'Found her yet?"

"No, have you?"

"Nope."

"Don't call me until you have or something-!"

"OH WAIT _I SEE HER I SEE HER!_"

"_WHERE IS SHE!_"

"Heh heh heh, **_PSYCHE-!_**"

"_You SLAGGING PIECE OF **SLAG **SKYWARP!_"

"TC, I _don't_ think she's in the base."

"She _has_ to be! I know it!"

"If you know where she is, then why are we looking for her!"

"Starscream to Laurel and Hardy, come in."

"Heeeeeeey 'SCREAMER! I _LOVE_ THAT SHOW!"

"I thought you would…(idiot)."

"Starscream, where are you-?"

"I told you, leave me alone. Can't a femme con have some 'me' time? To hear you two bicker over me like lost sheep without their shepherd, honestly. I turn off my communicator so I won't be bothered, but what do I have to hear? Dumb and dumber wailing "Where's 'Screamer? Where's Screamer!" over and _over and **over**_ again in the Nemesis! I said leave me alone, okay? You can live a day without me (as hard as it is), so _do_ it. (_Why_ do I even share internal communications with them…come knocking at my _door_ at Primus knows what-)"

"Starscream, are you in your room? Are you! WE'RE COMING OVER-!"

"I said _GO, **AWAY!**_ _Don't_ _you_ _understand_ _English!_ I SAID **F-**"

-------

"**-UCK OFF----!**"

A loud static scratched the jet's audio's and Thundercracker winced in pain, taking a sprint to the aerial commander's quarters. Running into Skywarp literally, the duo untangled themselves and raced together in anticipation of her constant disappearance, ignoring the loud grating noise from over exerting their internal machinery when they reached the door.

"Did we make it!" Skywarp leaned on the door frame.

"I dunno…" Thundercracker banged his fists on the door. "Starscream, you in! We-…I just wanna talk to you! About something?"

The blue jet rested his head over her door, hastily gathering his thoughts into coherency.

"….Please?"

"Um, TC…" Skywarp mumbled. "Did she actually _say_ she was in her room?"

Thundercracker slowly turned to look at Skywarp.

"I mean…if she didn't want to be disturbed, she wouldn't, _tell_ us where she was…right…? …Right?" The answer to his question was met by an exasperated moan.

"…Just warp in there."

Taking his cue, the purple seeker's body saturated into an intense light and disappeared. Thundercracker backed away from the door when he heard the latter tumble into various objects, and let himself out of the dark room through the door, making an arced plunge to the floor.

"-SLAG it! What was in my way! Man, I thought her room was like, super neat or somethin''-!"

Skywarp recollected his senses to look at what Thundercracker was staring at with an unhinged jaw. The impeccable tidiness of Starscream's room was gone. Her desk was bluntly halved, the monitor in pieces and the chair turned into unrecognisable scraps on the floor. Even the bulky recharge bed was toppled at a sharp angle, and the walls were littered with dents and fist marks. Looming shadows from the door grew into the scene of what was a bare knuckled fight.

"W…what…happened…?"

-------

A/N: Um, I had something to say, but my coffee addiction is getting in the way 83 Oh yeah, Wizard of Oz ref!


	13. Chapter 12: Modus Operandi II

**Chapter 12: Welcome, One and All / Modus Operandi II**

A/N: **_COFFEEEEEEEEE_**! Writing, drawing and work. Edited things here and there and here and there / Things get more touchy-feely as the chapters roll on, jes' a warning to you guys, so you know what you're expecting (the title says it all!) :P Thanks for the reviews, it helps a lot!

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Red optics flickered into the world of consciousness once again, to a medley of music playing softly in his internal radio. Scanning his room, his optics winked to look at the discarded wings of a seeker, tucked in the recess of his locker. His internal clock said it was four in the morning, but he had his duties. Maybe five more minutes …or five more breems? By the time he squandered over his decision, five minutes flew by his ageless body.

Jazz leapt out of his bed like a cat and exited his room.

-------

Thundercracker and his associate exchanged bewildered looks until Skywarp took himself as the usual scapegoat for any gargantuan mess.

"Hey, I only _tripped_ TC! My legs not as big as-! As-!" Thundercracker deftly swatted the back of Skywarp's head before the purple seeker could make himself look like the bigger fool. Punching his friend in bitter retaliation, the duo continued to stare at the room, as if it was going to grow a mouth and answer their questions. All Thundercracker got as a flashing signal on his communicator, earning a sharp jab from Skywarp's finger to bring him back to reality.

"Thundercracker reporting-"

"I presume you are in front of my room, TC?"

"Starscream-!"

"Don't 'Starscream' me. My internal sensors said my room has been _invaded_. You've got the 'purple peeker seeker' to open the doors too?"

Thundercracker made an unintelligent noise, and Skywarp opened his communication systems to listen to their conversation.

"Just lock my doors after that idiot is done with it."

"Starscream, what happened…?"

Thundercracker heard a deliberate silence, leaving Skywarp befuddled.

"…..I'm redecorating."

"What-!"

"Your _lea_der, _Megatron_ has something for you two, and he told me to tell you. Receive further orders from Soundwave, and get going. I have my own work to do."

"Starscream, um…are you free later? 'Cause I wanna talk with you, if you-"

The duo was met with static again and they turned off their radios. Skywarp just raised his optics and looked at Thundercracker.

"Geez, you **sure** you wanna be with this Deceptichick?"

-------

The evening rolled off the beach, colouring everything it touched into a deep orange. Spotting a lone Decepticon sitting on the sand, Thundercracker made no attempt to hide his presence to her, and swooped in to land behind Starscream. The aerial commander always had a strong penchant for seeking quiet solitude wherever she could find it, and having Skywarp as their friend meant that their quarters offered none of what Starscream found out on this beach. Thundercracker made a face when he saw a pair of small purple feet, and stepping closer to Starscream revealed a small Cassetticon sleeping soundly on her lap. Wondering why Rumble of all Transformers, could afford the luxury of Starscream's company at a close proximity made Thundercracker feel…a little possessive.

"What's he doing here?" he pointed rudely at the sleeping Rumble.

Starscream cocked her chin at the two small empty energon cubes at their side. "We had a drink and a little chat. Then he fell asleep."

Scratching his head to find the words to say, Starscream gently nudged the smallest Transformer awake, and beckoned him from his blissful recharge. The Cassetticon sleepily complied, rubbing his visors with the back of his hands to meet a blue seeker, unhappy at his very presence.

"I wanna talk to Starscream." He spoke bluntly to the cassette, and leaned in to the purple Decepticon. "…For seeker audio's _only_."

Taking the hint, Rumble muttered something under his breath, and took flight into the radiant sky. The aerial commander purposely ignored her blue counterpart and strode past Thundercracker, wearing a small scowl.

"Starscream, wait!" he called, and waited for the red seeker to turn around, looking a little exasperated. "I, uh…I wanna talk. I mentioned before that, um…"

"…If it's about you liking me Thundercracker, then the answer is no." The blue jet widened his optics.

'_Dammit Skywarp! Can't keep his vocal chords shut!_' he cursed inwardly, and looked up at the object of his desire, choosing his words to express his discontent.

"Did Skywarp tell you?"

"_No_ one told me, TC." She answered in a matter-of-fact tone. "And everyone knows how you follow me like some lovesick puppyoid."

Thundercracker then scowled at himself. Thinking back, he did make himself too obvious, and Starscream waited for her words to sink in before she reminded him again.

"You've been dogging me around like you _own_ me, Thundercracker, and that in itself is annoying. Why do you think I wanted some distance from you two? So I can miss the way you nanny me?" Starscream snorted at his direction, and made an immediate mockery of his concern for her, straining her vocals to go sharper and higher with each example.

"Starscream, are you hurt? Let _me_ get that for you! Don't worry Starscream, _I_ can carry this for you! Starscream, let _me_ fight them off for you, you poor,_ **defenceless** creature you! Starscream! Starscream! **STARSCREAM---!**_" she rambled on expressing her animosity, flinging her arms into the air. Thundercracker felt hurt that she could easily exaggerate his own words and recite them back to him. He never meant it _that_ way.

"Well…I'm sorry." He mumbled plaintively. "But, now that you know…"

"Oh, I _know._" She grumbled. "I was wondering when you would actually say it, that's all."

"Then hear me out, okay!" The blue jet was at his wits end. How difficult must she be _now_! "Starscream…we-…let's…let's be together….And I-"

He paused. He could hear himself verbally trip on his own words, in a voice of trepidation. He took a small breath to finish his sentence.

"…I won't take 'no' as an answer." His outstretched hand was met with a raised optic, and Starscream studied his reaction. He was going to be _very_ disappointed.

"No." He did not give her a chance to turn her back to him, and spun her around by the shoulders to meet his optics, agitating the red seeker.

"_Don't you touch **me**!_" she shrieked and shoved him away form her. "Your emotional idiocy is no excuse to manhandle _me_ like **_THAT!_**"

"Then why can't we be together!" he shouted on the verge of desperation with a voice of consternation.

"Because Thundercracker, I _fly_ the skies, not _LIVE_ in them!" she growled. "You're too late anyway! I've al_ready_ been spoken for, so don't think that I'm the _only_ Transformer you'd have to deal with when you try anything _stupid_ like _that_ again!"

"**Who!** WHO IS IT!" Thundercracker denied what he was hearing, wanting to destroy the Transformer who took her first. "Is it Rumble! That bastard's too _short_ for you anyway! _I'll step on him-!_"

"Shut, up….Just..._shut…**up**_." She ordered in a low threatening tone. "….Now, you either calm yourself down…or my null ray's will."

His optics blazed an angry red glow, reflecting off his pale cheeks. It took Thundercracker an extreme amount effort to tide his aggravated state, and the surrounding terra was not spared as he forcibly rammed them down. Starscream watched the blue jet with slit optics disturb the serenity, kicking up wet chunks of sand against the tide, shouting Cybertronian obscenities at the waves, fighting it in its natural course. His fists barely uncurled themselves when they were too sore from punching the large beach rocks, and the frustrated seeker turned to his commander for an answer in his barely controlled anger.

"Ah. Happy now?" Starscream took a quick glance at his energon stained hands, twitching irregularly.

"Who…is it?" he asked with a tense jaw.

"Does it matter, TC?" she folded her arms behind her back and started taking a stroll down the beach, away from Thundercracker. "I don't think our relationship would work anyway…A subordinate wanting to court his superior. It doesn't work that way…"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean-?"

A beeping noise interrupted Thundercracker, and the aerial commander promptly opened her communication lines.

"This is Megatron, calling Starscream."

"This is Starscream speaking. What are your orders, Megatron?"

"Report back to Decepticon Headquarters immediately."

"Yes, my lord."

Starscream turned around to find Thundercracker's jaw gaping open, and gave her blue counterpart a meaningful look, although it was not necessary for him to find the answer himself.

"**_HIM!_**"

"Yes, _him_. And why not?"

"B-! Bu-!" Trying not to short circuit himself was proving difficult. A self-assured smile graced the femme con's face, looking proud while Thundercracker's hands and face jerked spastically for a proper word to reach his vocalisers.

"Look. I want the Decepticon leadership, right? Now I have it. Simple. And it comes with a big grey Transformer too," she shrugged. "We all win. Except you."

"I-…I don't believe-! ….You're not going to get away with-"

"With _what_, TC?"

"You know 'what'!" he threw his hands forward, impersonating his aerial commander with a poor falsetto voice. "Hey, I'm 'Screamer and I'm SO hungry for power! Here's another scheme! Let's use my sexy BUTT powers to get the Decepticon leadership!"

The blue jet stopped talking when Starscream pointed her arm at him, which had a charging laser rifle at the end of said arm. It never failed to remind anyone why Starscream was the aerial commander of the Decepticons, and standing a few feet away from him, she couldn't miss even if he spun her around with her optics offline.

"We don't need _two_ Skywarp's in our team, T_C_." She emphasised his moniker, and the blue seeker sunk his shoulders in defeat.

"…How stupid do you think our leader is? He's not going to let you _use_ him like this. It usually works the other way around…"

"_Usually_. It's time for a change, Thundercracker."

"…This is a bad idea, Starscream."

"To you, TC, everything's a bad idea. Or are you just jealous?" She looked at the blue seeker and thrust her hands apart, throwing her gaze to the skies.

"Welcome, welcome, one and all! Where love triangles are made, and hearts are broken! Jealousy, treachery and deceit runs afresh like the new springs that come alive! The drama never stops, and neither does the show! The play must go on! _Welcome_ Thundercracker---!"

Starscream stopped raving to the air and looked back at the blue seeker, who was not amused at her antics, and continued anyway.

"Welcome, to the nerve ending cliché's of life!"

-------

A/N: Population: all of us and you. Modus Operandi, Part 2, done. And probably revisited for any typos. Poor TC, the butt of…well, all butts XD Agh, I'm not making sense anymore!

Heh heh, this week there's Friday the 13th and the _nerve_ of me to start writing the 13th chapter! lol I'm gonna try and finish it within this week, or even better, I'll post the next chapter on Friday itself! XD


	14. Chapter 13: Mach 2

**Chapter 13: Mach 2**

A/N: Well, I've finally corrected the whole chapter from being a jumbled mess! To those who had to read the pitiful version before the amendment, I'm deeply sorry that you did. No amount of brainwashing or soap could save you from the atrocity XP This version has been provided in a readable semi-coherent format…I think.

_To Everyone Out There:_ I'm thinking of changing the title of the fanfic (it's so cheesy, you can smell the fanfic from a mile away). If anyone has any idea(s), please tell me! No bad words though…ehm, I have a lot of that, thank you.

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Megatron started all meetings with the discourse on the merits of his troops. He would highlight those who went beyond their regular achievements with success, starting from the highest ranking to the lowest. When the glorification of those mentioned were finished, he would continue with the soldiers who _didn't_ perform as well in their duties, feeding the lowest ranking Decepticon to the highest their well deserved verbal humiliation. Topping off the reprimand with an actual threat of termination involving his fusion cannon was good enough to instil fear and allow room for improvement in the Decepticon army.

Starscream was not spared the formalities, and Megatron immediately castigated her _first_ for any unauthorised activities she had committed. Soundwave's optics flashed briefly in cognizance at his leaders unfamiliar behaviour towards his second-in-command. His near chiding tone and the lack of physical confrontation to the red seeker was too apparent to the communications officer, or any other Transformer with half a cerebral circuit for that matter. What was stranger was Starscream's resignation to the grey Transformer, acting in a restrained compliant to Megatron's words, and in no supply of snappy comebacks for their leader.

She threw a rude glance at him to let the cassette tape deck know she was well aware of his presence. Any attempts to read her mind would be countered by a flood of inconsistent gibberish invading his mind's space if he did not cut off his clairvoyant process, and she put up one too many mental barriers for Soundwave to even bother. To him, she was just too self-conscious and paranoid, and sifting through her mental babble didn't seem worth it.

When the meeting was concluded, Soundwave was given the immediate task to assign the duties to the Decepticon's individually by his leader, and he obediently complied. The Decepticons slowly exited the room in droves, leaving Megatron and Starscream the only Decepticons in the meeting room. Observing silently before the doors slid shut, Soundwave also noticed the lack of personal space between the pair as they discussed future tactics over a large blue screen. Starscream blocked Soundwave's view of Megatron with her wings, and stood quite protectively over their leader.

Listening to the doors hiss shut at last, Starscream felt a strong arm snake around her waist and forcefully pull her closer with a jolt. A small squeak escaped Starscream when her head rapped Megatron's arm, and she quickly grabbed his body to regain some sense of balance.

'_He's possessive over **everything**_,' Starscream thought and chuckled to herself. "I'm not going anywhere, oh mighty leader."

"Of course you aren't."

'_Fine, make me look like the stupid one,'_ she snorted rudely._ 'It's not been the first time.''_

Studying the map displayed on the enormous screen, the Decepticon leader felt Starscream coyly stroking the insignia proudly worn on his chest with her trim blue fingers. Her optics were vaguely focused on the screen, and Megatron looked down at her head resting gently on his shoulders. Her cautious nature over their new-found relationship served to remind Megatron how her femininity was sacrificed to hone her military skills, to become one of the Decepticon's finest soldiers.

'_And she's still a naïve inexperienced female_,' he grunted to himself. He proved his point when he cupped her chin rather roughly in his large hands and pointed her optics in his direction. The quizzical expression that washed over her face made Megatron perversely happy. A reminiscence of their past, he almost forgot how Starscream look so innocent many vorns ago.

"Starscream, how long have you been as a female before you adopted your crude disguise?"

She knew he was happily reminding her on how green she was at this particular experience and she kept quiet and flicked her chin back, which suited Megatron fine, who was laughing on the inside. Holding his face, Starscream closed her eyes and planted a soft kiss on his lips, anything to wipe the smug grin off his face.

At least her advances towards the Decepticon leader were more, 'subtle' than his previous actions in her personal quarters…

-------

A soft hiss escaped from her door and Starscream groaned.

"Just slag _off_ **_TC!_**"

Starscream stopped moving when she saw Megatron, and his hand reaching for the button to lock the door. Two pairs of red optics glowed at each other, locked in the darkness. He didn't even wait for their optics to adjust to the dark, when he charged towards the seeker's recharge bed. Slamming his hand against the cold metal, Megatron cursed when he missed his mark and found a pair of agitated optics darting around the room, illuminating the femme con's face. The next light came from her laser rifles, but the seeker didn't even get the chance to aim when Megatron crushed her arms in his fists and diverted the weak shots away form his body, lighting the room briefly in a purple ricochet.

The next thing she knew was her own leader shamelessly nailing her to the wall, and taking what he claimed was his.

He drove his mouth against hers, greedily swallowing her lips, drowning whatever protests she wanted to voice out in their heated passion. Tearing himself away from her, the larger Transformer belligerently flung her aside, her wings doing little to shield her fall, and crumpled into the remains of her desk in the corner. Her optics just found its sight back when she lifted her head off the ground, craning it to notice the menacing shadow approaching her supine body. Starscream was too late to react to the Decepticon leader picking her up, crushing her wrists in his hands, and slamming her into the same position he adopted the seeker to in the war room. Pressing his body against hers, Megatron stole her away in the privacy of her room, her modesty becoming his to outrage.

Starscream did not fight back.

Megatron would not be here if he wasn't sure of her reaction, but the Decepticon leader had guessed correctly. Forcing his head back to reciprocated the kiss, Starscream traced her foot against his leg, and he took hold of her thigh, releasing her wrists from the painful lock. Lingering in their own passion, the seeker tore herself away from him after much effort, and eyed her leader. Their optics flared brightly in the dark, and taking the initiative from their gazing, Starscream rasped a swift hand across Megatron's face, tearing blunt scratch marks on his cheek. A deep pained growl escaped Megatron's throat, prompting the seeker to raked his chest like a crazed animal, fighting aimlessly in the darkness.

She knew what she wanted, and an unshakable feeling of elation ran in her mind. His blows were applied for a much different reason now, a reason she was happy to nurse to fruition, as much as it scared her at the same time. Her morbid curiosity coupled with the familiar paranoia she had over her leader, but something else niggled her thought processors. She was enjoying this experience for another unwanted feeling which had nothing to do with her ambitions for power.

-------

'_Slag it_,' Starscream mused. '_Of course it's strange; I've never felt like this for a Transformer before. Not like I had the time to_.'

Her mind snapped back to the data pad in her hands. Megatron had left the room some astroseconds ago.

'_I'll just have to get used to it. It's purely_ _emotional-_' Starscream winced at that thought. '_It'll pass. As long as Megatron continues to ride it's waves, everything is going just, fine'._

-------

He always had to explain things twice for Skywarp to absorb the information fully. Blinking out of his vacuous stare, Skywarp leaned back to have a clear view of the miserable blue seeker in front of him, and heaved a sigh. Those who got their first impression of Skywarp would summarise him in one word: slow. But once given the situation to be clearly understood, his bizarre autistic insight would give way.

"Here it goes again."

"Here goes, _what_ again 'Warp?"

The purple seeker squinted at his wing mate sitting on his recharge bed. "…I got a lotta say. Promise you won't interrupt me for like, a breem?"

"Timing you now, bud."

"Cool." Skywarp sat upright and slapped his knees. "Hn…where do I start?"

Skywarp clapped his hands again. "Okay, 'kay, 'kay. We're Deceps, right? Transformers too. We got our needs and wants and all-'

"'Warp, where are you going with this-"

"Ahp pap pap! No interruptions, man, my minds onna roll here."

"Something's rolling all right-"

"Shaddup and listen, okay! …Just listen. We're Transformers, right? We have stuff we want, stuff we need. But you TC, you're a nice guy. You're like, the _only_ 'Con who cares for his buddies, like, a _lot_. And other things too, I won't tell no one, you know I got your back. You don't ask for much too. I mean, I need my 'Tee-Vee' (and the cartoons, man, I love cartoons), and 'Screamer needs to buff her hot legs everyday (ooh, damn, they are hot). She also wants the same thing ol' Megatron wants…she wants the **POWA'---!** But anyway, back to you. You don't ask for much. I like that, you're cool. You don't have the ol', '_Man, I'm a Transformer and I need stuff like, **NOW-**'_"

"You're rambling again."

"OKAY! **ANYWAY!** (Anyway). You don't ask fer much. That makes you, TC, right? You don't want much. You jes' wanna be happy. But when you _do_ want somethin'…and I really mean, something'…you like, hafta get it. Remember when we were younger- …What? _WHAT?! _Don't look at me like that! Fine, if you don't wanna listen I'll jes'…arrrrgh. Remember Wingraze? Yeah, that slaghole who got like, the coolest guns ever? Remember you wanted them so bad? I mean, you wanted them, _so_ _BAD_…yeah? And you can't get 'em, no matter what you did?"

"…(Remember what we did to him? 'Course ya' do)."

"……_WE** SLAGGED HIM! **_We like, slagged our own Decepticon brudda'! (But he still the biggest slaggin' slag…oh wait, there's the 'Screamer)."

"There, right there. There's the thing, TC. When you want something, you'll do _any_thing, and I mean, **anything**, ta' get it. And every time you want (something), it's always a thing that you can never, ever get! C'mon! Lookit' 'Screamer! She's like, the (only) Earth Deceptihottie who can also kick afterburner to Cybertron and back! She's smart, has hot legs, and is smart too and you _want_ her! And we all know, man, do we _know_, what she likes _too!_"

"So when she's with Megs, why aren't you **NOT** surprised? It's been going 'round the base. 'Oh, 'Screamer will so totally be with our leader'. Why d'ya think no one hit on her? 'Cause it's obvious. An' that makes you want her more. TC, I know Deceptichicks are rare, but, c'_mon!_ You're gonna want something you can't get, then get angry ya' can't _get it_, then, do something you're gonna regret and _still not get it!_ **_TC!_**"

"…But…"

"…But **what?** 'But 'Screamer's the _only_ one for me! I like 'Screamer! 'Screamer makes my fuel pump jump and her voice is like a thousand angels **DYIN'!'**"

"……"

"TC, news flash."

"..._THERE ARE OTHER FISH OUT IN THE SEA!!!!_"

-------

_Who _wouldn't_ you slag if all the Decepticon's were captured?_

If the Autobots were asked the question, Thundercracker would be part of the answer. The peace-loving Transformers had this insight, this uncanny penchant, for sniffing out Autobot or human sympathisers within the Decepticon ranks. And why not? Pity and mercy was part of their sickeningly honourable, everyday vocabulary. With the opposing army wrought with an overabundance of hatred and anarchy, finding one would be too easy for them anyway. Its like asking a seeker, '_Where's the sky?_'

Knowing it or not, the Autobot's would not shoot Thundercracker _first_ unless they were being shot at. The blue seeker did not radiate the stereotypical terrorist attitude unlike the rest, and Thundercracker saw no reason to bully the fleshlings, unless his leader ordered him to with his cold black finger; preferably the one from his right hand, because that was where his fusion cannon was mounted. He didn't _have_ to thread on a few pink creatures just because he could.

Once, in the midst with his Decepticon brothers razing a city, Thundercracker would have tallied the destruction to the back of his mind, if it wasn't the first time he saw humans. Zooming in on the tiny creatures, he noted curiously that not all of them were of a certain colour. Skin, eyes, hair…everything about them, followed a basic outline to their carbon forms, yet they all presented themselves as grouped individuals. Just like seekers. Stranger still was the flexibility of their faces. Analysing every detail, every mark, every spot and mole, the blue seeker also realised they had similar facial expressions, just like the Transformers. The most common one he saw when he arrived in their habitat?

_Fear. Grief. **Loss**._

The mind of a computer cannot forget.

His optics quickly scanned the source of an uncontrollable wailing from a pile of rubble. It came from a young fleshling, its face contorting to the new experience of pain it could have never envisioned. The skin around the optics were twisted, it's vocalisers stopped when it spewed some kind of coagulated fluid. Blood? It was blood, that's what they called it. It matched the red hues on its face. Thundercracker would have stared dumbly at it for a vorn if a large metal foot hadn't crushed the house. Following the foot to the face of its owner, the blue seeker found Blitzwing, who razzed at his dazed state and continued to smash each and every house that was not completely flattened.

He hated it.

With each human extermination came a feeling of dread, a negative power surge that quivered in his systems.

Reaching at Mach 2 speeds, Thundercracker raced through the skies, patiently charging his next sonic boom. He had been mindlessly throwing them across the rocky landscape to relieve his emotional burden, blissfully uninterrupted by anything Transformer related in his straight flight pattern. A suburban human colony emerged over the dull brown horizon, and more likely than not, it would be littered with countless scores of humans, in their colourful variety. Thundercracker would have to swoop to the clouds, being too low to ground level, or change their lives for the worse.

Today, he turned off his audio modules and pretended they never existed.

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A/N: If the fanfic I wrote got you scared and paranoid (because of the copious amount of rubbish! XP) then I've done my Friday 13th duties! Holy snappolies! Well, um, feeling nervous and partially embarrassed for writing this, so…(Runs off)


	15. Chapter 14: Inamoratos

**Chapter 14: Inamoratos**

A/N: Stuff happens! And I finally changed the title! **YAY!** Man, there was a lot of thinking done (thinking - procrastinating) but I finally decided. It took a while, and I would like to thank everyone out there who gave their suggestions that helped my brain / grey sponge come to a desired result. Thank you very much! AND! Eh, to the people who made Transformers :D

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The olive green jeep wrangler ploughed through the beach sand playing with the waves that swept playfully at his wheels. Spying the aforementioned cave alongside the cliff face, Hound would have nodded in his robot mode at the accurate directions offered to him, and transformed as quietly as possible to creep to the nearest hiding place, detecting soft murmurs echoing from inside the cave. The jeep scrutinised its smallish entrance, noting that gaining entry would be difficult unless he either crouched, or transformed into his root mode to drive inside. The reconnoitring Autobot did not take his bets on disturbing the unknowns inside and took a comfortable position against the rocks, green and yellow striped arms resting in front his face.

Hound was happier to observe the cave from a majestic viewpoint, but with his curiosity motivating him, the jeep's head peeped from the large rocks like a refractory child. Two pairs of feet were standing facing each other, trying to close the gap between them as much as possible amongst the stalactites that blocked his view. The jeep doubtlessly recognised the first pair belonging to a certain saboteur, and slowly gazing at the second, he quickly clasped his mouth shut to stop himself from hiccupping in surprise.

Matching the voices to the feet was easy, but believing the conversation was an entirely new conclusion.

-------

"Angel…"

"I told you not to call me that. And-"

Jazz quietly hushed the red seeker and rested her head on his chest with a reassuring hand. Keeping her silence, she nuzzled her head into his neck, taking note of his door panels slightly raised in mock resemblance of her wings, a growing habit he adopted these past few weeks. With the hum of her internal machinery melodiously synchronised with the soothing whirr coming from Jazz, both Transformers sunk slightly in pure placidity. Starscream's optics flickered in surrender to the small euphoria she could rarely attain, when the saboteur spoke again in a low voice.

"...Why does he hit you even more now?"

"Because I am part of the Decepticon army. And the Decepticon army belongs to him. He's always hit me, what difference does it make now?"

"You belong to nobody, angel. And I don't see why he's gotta use you like some punching bag just because he's got a tantrum…" The femme con simply chuckled at Jazz's last remark.

"So you're saying he should pummel some other, 'Deceptiloser'." It was Jazz's turn to stifle a snigger, responding with a tighter embrace of the Decepticon to his chassis.

"…I've only 'changed' into something more comfortable; that doesn't mean I've lost all my strength to barely carry my aft, and don't you forget it." She emphasised her point with a prodding blue finger to his nose. "And for the last time, I'm not an angel."

"Then why do you have wings?"

"Don't start-"

"-And live in the clouds?"

"Shut up you!" Starscream objected, roughly pushing the saboteur and batting away his roving hands, impetuous to place her in his embrace once again. Facing her back to him with her shoulders shaking, Jazz didn't know whether she was hiding a laughing face or just maddened at his last comment. When she finally composed herself, Starscream turned around with a look of indifference, and spoke plainly to him.

"…I have to go." A small whimper escaped from Jazz's voice modulator with his hands clapped together, and the red seeker simply turned a blind optic away from him with the flick of her head.

"My internal clock has rung and I have over extended my stay in our little 'love nest'. I'll see you again soon."

"Don't go. Don't stay with Megatron. Stay with Jazz." He hugged her knees in self-mockery. "…Jazz love you long time?"

"Very funny Mr. Articulate. I have to go _now_." Her lithe feet immediately scissored open and dashed to the wider entrance of the cave, taking a leap into transformation. Jazz sighed to himself when the F-15 disappeared into the fleechy clouds, and dropped his shoulder to the cave walls.

"…Jazz?"

The aforementioned Autobot felt a small surge tickle his nape. Squinting his optics to trap the light flickering from it, the saboteur casually lifted his weight off his shoulder.

"Okay, ya' got me. Reaching for the skies now, Hound," the saboteur did as he said. "My guns in my sub compartment, but I think-"

A Cheshire grin pulled Jazz's face when he heard his friend trot to him, and Hound found it still plastered on when Jazz turned to face him.

"Jazz, you know I won't do that…" the jeep spoke in a somewhat composed tone, unable to hide his slightly unhinged jaw, dangling precariously with each spoken syllable. Reaching for the Porsche's arms to pull them back down, Hound took a step back to look at Jazz, the saboteur betraying the expected reaction from any Transformer found conspiring with the enemy.

"How'd you find me, man?"

'_Spoken like a true Porsche_,' the jeep straightened himself. "Mirage."

"Ah."

"'Said he strayed from border patrol when he saw you and Starscream…(what did he say again?)" Hound looked away from the guilty party to brood when the answer came to him.

"Oh right. He said he found you and Starscream 'discussing Autobot-Decepticon alliances by whispering into each other mouths'. He was quite worried." The green Transformer finished with an affirmative nod and Jazz could feel his smirk tear his cheeks apart.

"…Does Prowl kn-"

"Oh Primus, _no_." Hound forcefully exhaled. "At first Mirage wanted to tell your best bud, but we don't need another head-exploding-due-to-illogical-things incident."

"You got that right."

"Soooo, he came to me. And when I got here-"

"Nudge nudge, wink wink?"

"Jazz, with all due honesty, I _don't_ want to know what you were doing. Just now. There. Here."

"Don't ask, don't tell. But seriously," Jazz strolled around the cave in their own privacy. "It's strictly personal, man. We don't talk about who's doing what in our army, so-"

"That's one thing." Hound stopped Jazz with a finger raised, and chose his words carefully. "We've heard of Autobot-Decepticon relationships before, and I know, that you and Starscream are, about the same rank. But it's not about who supports which army, or what rank they hold (okay, maybe a little), but…this is **Starscream** we're talking about. Starscream, the femme con you are currently seeing, the same 'Con who's arrogant, _selfish_-"

"She just loves herself too much an' Jazz needs some of that-"

"-Who betrays anyone with their back turned! If Megatron blinked, he'd make sure Starscream wasn't in the room so she won't know his eyes are closed!" Hound looked up to find the saboteur staring blankly at him.

"Hound…" Jazz smiled sympathetically. "I like her…I really do."

Jazz chuckled under his breath when Hound optics widened. "An' as crazy as it is, with the war and everything…she's not as bad as she sounds. I mean, some of the 'Cons were cool cats before the war started. She and I, we don't talk about anything to do with it…in fact, we just talk about ourselves, that's all. Just wheels and wings, you know?"

"Sounds like you're running your own special operation: chicken delivery service," they both laughed at the shared joke, and the saboteur continued.

"I'm not _crazy_ crazy, man. I won't say nothin' about what we Autobot's are doin'-"

"Wait…is that why…but-! You shot Starscream last Thursday!" Hound's train of thought drifted to the previous skirmish with the Decepticons.

"Yeah…" Jazz slumped and looked a little dejected, earning a sympathetic pat from Hound. What the saboteur purposely neglected to mention was the low setting on his gun, only applied when he could not avoid direct conflict with Starscream.

-------

"..…Sucker."

When her nose cone hit the clouds, the red seeker muttered openly and unsparingly about her Autobot boyfriend. Starscream was naturally sceptic about the whole idea that an Autobot at his rank (and annoyance) would pursue her in the name of romance, but after much forced coercion by her leader and the originality of the saboteur's alliance, the scheme sounded better and better by the astrosecond. At least, it sounded better than the ominous hiss from the tyrant's fusion cannon, and the seeker readily complied with a humble bow to the tyrant's commands before he could point his signature death-bringer at her.

'_I have him right in my sights_,' the jet sniggled. '_Thank Primus for such Autobot love-fools! To think that they succumb to such pitiable emotions so easily! You may not talk about war when we are together Jazz, but that doesn't make you a closed book! It's just a matter of time before you let your guard down completely, and do things in the name of 'love' for me! ME! STARSCREAM! Huh…no wonder why they'll never win the war…they're palpable sentiments and ignorant, _gullible_ compassion to others, is the very catalyst to their **downfall!**_'

The seeker paused her train of thought, cruising through the whispery blankets of clouds.

'…_And he even put that ear-flapped head of his on my lap. What are those weird protrusions for anyway? Maybe they're corny joke processors, specifically built to combat intellectuals like me, or to get femmes. What a weirdo. A refreshing breath from old bucket head, but a weirdo still. At least he doesn't hit me. 'Oh, angel baby foofie-cakes, did he hurt your finger? Let me kiss away that boo-boo for you! Muah muah **muah!**'_' Starscream could only mock Jazz to a certain extent before surrendering to a fit of laughter, which died down to a soft giggle.

'_Oh great, I'm even giggling now_,' she grumbled. '_Better ask the Constructicons to remove my tear ducts. What a useless function. It's so Autobot-_'

No sooner had she finished her mulling when a thermal beam cut into the air. Dodging the ray with a sharp turn, the aerial commander cursed when she heard a vociferous accent broadcast his presence.

"Hey ho, 'where you going Starscream!" Powerglide announced and took the initiative to catch her with a burst of speed.

'_Oh great, it's that flying midget show off. He's no bigger than a missile on my radar…and I thought it was glitching._' The femme con dryly humoured herself in the midst of barrel rolling in-between the red plane's shots.

"Making a lot of _noise_ to compensate for something, Autobot?" she hissed and raced away from the smaller place. Flying away at a straight course was the tactic of an inexperienced flyer, and taking note of her poor choice of strategy, Powerglide's only concern was to keep up with the F-15 before she could escape him.

"_Come on Autoboob, I know what you can do._"

And on cue, Powerglide took another try at catching the seeker. Accelerating with another speed rush, Powerglide shot himself at the femme con, ready to fire at her tailgate when the sky suddenly found itself without a seeker.

"What the-YEAAAGH!"

Starscream never got tired of her opponents screams when they got shot by her infamous null ray. Casually floating in the sky with the latter spiralling to the ocean, the aerial commander was thankful that her thrusters were located on her feet, and in mid-transformation they served to be very good brakes. Giving herself enough time to cruise away from her latest victim, Starscream deliberately hovered until Powerglide hit the water gracelessly, and cackled as she resumed her original destination.

-------

Red Alert's sensors immediately jolted at the warning from Teletraan 1. Panicked blue optics drawn to the screen accompanied by equally panicked fingers, the security director quickly uprooted the exact coordinates to a small town located in the suburbs with the Decepticon signature written all over it. The fire car wasted no time radioing Inferno and other available Autobot's to the scene, when another voice took possession of Teletraan 1. Turning around to face the intruder, the Autobot's optics darted frantically at the dancing grey static, looking for a face to put the voice to.

"…Most of the human population is hidden in a religious house with a big cross above it. You won't miss it, it's the only one there."

"W-Who are you! Decepticon?! You better not be trying anything else! I know your kind! It's a trap I say!" The voice held a tense silence at the jittering Autobot, a normal reaction to Red Alert's usual skittish behaviour.

"No trap…and there is a fire moving south-east. Go get there quick."

"Who are you Decepticon-! SLAG!" Red Alert threw a small fit when the transmission cut itself off. Collecting his thoughts before they run into bigger, more frantic circles, Red Alert transformed into his car mode and sped out of the Ark. The trepidation coursing through the fire car's circuits felt different today. With the Decepticon's twisted sense of humour, it wasn't the first time they called Autobot headquarters with a distress signal, telling of a razed city was in need of their aid at so-and-so coordinates. The Autobot security director even swore that for kicks, their enemies would race with the humans to see who could radio Teletraan 1 first. What made the latest distress signal stranger today was the lack of mordancy and lampoonery in the Decepticon's tone.

'_Was it guilt?_' Red Alert thought.

'_Not in a million vorns_.'

-------

A/N: So much stuff happening, I apologise if I haven't been writing / updating much. Very stressed, like Red Alert :P Primus punish me if I don't finish this fanfic.


	16. Chapter 15: No Rest For No One

**Chapter 15: No Rest For No One**

A/N: Heaaaadacheeee. So many typo's to correct XP I think I overdid Red Alert character in the last chapter oo I was reading fanfics, and I knew something was missing from mine, but I had no idea what it was. It was something important, something that almost all fanfics have, and it usually appears early on in a fanfic. I kept on forgetting what it was…

-------

"Now with Starscream gone, -**I_-_** shall be the new second-in-command of the Decepticons! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA-**OW!** C'mon TC, that hurts…"

Skywarp rubbed his sides as his wingmate strode away from the crowd to observe them, chattering aimlessly in the middle of the desert. Today they were offered another exercise geared at team efficiency, _without_ the guidance of their aerial commander. Thundercracker would be the first to act as Starscream's substitute, grouping the seekers into a loose circle without the crass arrogance the femme con generously offered. Breaking his patience was the purple jet's favourite job, making a poor imitation at Starscream's bid to replace his superior. Poking his nosecone where it was not wanted, Ramjet bellowed for some Autobots to thrash here and now, and Dirge's attitude did not help Thrust, who was situated between an overzealous conehead and a depressed conehead.

In other words, without Starscream, the odd number of jets resembled a group of dysfunctional children.

The pride of the Decepticon army.

"Starscream, I wanna go home! I hate this! Even TC's actin' like Dirge! Can we go back, huh? Can we? Can we? _Pleeease?_" Skywarp's childishly pleaded to his communicator in his arm, desperate to win Starscream's clemency. "I promise I won't say anything about your hot legs for like, a week! No, no! A **MONTH! **Starting today, yeah?"

"Shut up 'Warp, she's turned off her communications system. She _al_ways does that (when she's with Megatron who _knows_ what-)"

"Sheddehp '_Wheerph_! Meh meh meh meh **_meh---!!!_**" The purple jet razzed back at the blue seeker with a falsetto voice, moving his fingers in a rapid stapling motion. "Maybe if you hadn't slagged her off today, we wouldn't be doing this _lousy_ exercise! We oughta' give you a new paint job! How 'bout the colour **STUPID?!**"

"I heard the fleshlings dump tar on their loser friends and add feathers to them…" Ramjet offered his insight on human culture.

"Go 'ram jet' yourself into a cliff, you-" Thundercracker's mutterings turned into a Cybertronian dialect.

"…Why are we all consumed by our own weaknesses…is it because of the fear…?" Thrust reply was to make a face at the dejected blue conehead.

"Um, Dirge? Can you, just, keep quiet? (you creepy freak)..."

Perched on a stray branch, Laserbeak continued surveillance on the five aerial cons.

-------

A pair of tired ruby optics watched her wingmates and the coneheads on a single monitor, demonstrating catastrophic consequences when left without guidance from their superiors. Starscream slapped her forehead with a blue hand and dragged said hand down, trying to pull her entire face to the floor.

"(…Not enough cerebral circuits between them to fill a human plate…)" she muttered and paced back to her leader, having seen enough disorganised idiocy.

"What was that?" Megatron looked away from the various monitors in front of him.

"Without me, your aerial force would be in shambles."

"And with you, it still _is_," the grey Transformer corrected his subordinate in a matter-of-fact tone. Starscream grunted and grimaced at Megatron.

"If you continue contorting your face like that, you might lose your 'Prettiest-In-The-Universe' title."

"_Any_thing to make us look like a matching couple, oh _mighty_ Megatron…" the red seeker dragged her last comment.

"How droll Starscream, but I did not call you here to have such a 'delightful' conversation. As you know, our energon reserves have almost reached its limit. Now is the time to draw out our new plans to get rid of the Autobots."

"And I suppose you want to build a giant death-ray of some sort to blast them all to slag, my lord?"

"Very _clever_, Starscream."

"And I owe it all to your leadership."

"Shut up and listen."

"Yes, my lord."

Watching Megatron clench and unclench his black fists told Starscream that she had just about drained her leader's patience. She knew goading him was a fool's game, but after admitting to themselves that they were an 'item', the aerial commander found some twisted satisfaction in testing Megatron's tolerance to her insults. The Decepticon leader was not shy to raise his hand or throw a fist at her, having relished this habit for many vorns, and knowing well that sometimes, Starscream asked for it. If he impetuously swung a backhand at her face, he would look predictable. If he held his hand he would look predictable. So he decided to surprised her today with an affectionate gesture.

Starscream's optics widened when Megatron smiled at her, and felt her lower lip being sucked further into her mouth when he reached over to place a soft kiss on her cheek. The Decepticon leader then leaned back looking quite appeased at his second-in-command, who was trying and losing at suppressing an embarrassed face. The femme con mentally kicked herself for not being used to this rare brand of manipulative treatment, and hurried herself to recover from the trepid surge that jolted through her systems. Megatron grinned wider when she pouted in defeat.

"...I hate you."

"Get used to it." He waved a hand at her and drew their attention to the next monitor, displaying blue prints of a factory of some sort.

"…If the next energon raid is successful, we will not have to worry about the Autobots, anymore!"

"Because we'll build a powerful weapon on Earth-?"

"Not _Earth_, Starscream…" Megatron snarled. "But Cybertron…"

-------

_If_, the next energon raid **_was_** successful.

"Decepticons…_RETREEEAAAAAAT!!!!_"

Starscream's head popped out of the sand as soon as she heard those familiar words ring into her audios. Leaping nimbly to her feet, the aerial commander doubled over and plunged head first back into the dry sand when a sharp pain shot through her systems.

"Disgusting flying Autobot!" Starscream yelled to no one and rubbed her smoking rear end, agitating the flecks of paint that crinkled off her dented aft. Instinctively looking up, the red seeker watched the majority of the Decepticon army shrink into purple blue specks in the sky. Her temper soared to violent extremes when she saw a light blue F-15 pair himself with his purple counterpart, and humbly followed the Decepticon troop back to headquarters.

'_Stupid **fool!**_' Starscream's thoughts raced feverishly through her circuits. '_Thundercracker did not follow my orders on _purpose!_ Megatron's going to take out more than my thrusters when I get back! …I have to get my word in first before that stupid headache does!_' she got up and swung her fists at the air.

"SLAGGING IDIOT!!!"

Starscream's optics darted to her surroundings when a bush trembled on its own accord. Whenever the Decepticon femme got shot out of the sky (reasons being that she was surrounded by incapable maladroit buffoons), she would deliberately aim for a safe distance away from the battlefield to crash, so she could hastily recover her senses and rejoin the fight (or retreat) when her body could afford it. Unfortunately, she was not alone in the dense flora she stumbled into, and Starscream remained almost statuesque to detect any hostile Transformer signals in her surroundings.

"'Someone get hit in the badonkadonk?"

Two black ear appendages impishly peeked out from the talking shrub, and Starscream relaxed her joints.

"…Very funny Jazz." The Autobot saboteur kneeled up to greet her when the same 'flying Autobot' that grounded Starscream flew into view, and fired a warning shot to distance the red seeker from his comrade.

"Jazz man, watch out!" Sideswipe mauled the Decepticon female. Taken back by the red Autobot's underhand tactics when he shot her from (and her) behind, Starscream was incited to pummel the Lamborghini if he did not do it first, spontaneously activating his pile driver arms, alarming the Decepticon femme con with the deadly palpitating force he possessed.

'_Useless Autobot boyfriend, do something-!_'

A painful thud and the sound of scraping Autobot parts scratched the combatants audios, distracting Sideswipe from the red seeker. Starscream literally grabbed the opportunity and dug her hands into the Lamborghini's shoulders before hurling him backwards. Sitting up from her supine position, Starscream's widened optics spotted the Porsche being swung by the leg like a disorientated cat. Gyrating the helpless Autobot overhead before tossing him aside like yesterday's slag, Megatron plucked his attention from Jazz to Starscream, who was clambering from her feet to meet her leader. The femme con was addled at the Decepticon leader personally coming back to retrieve his second-in-command, but pushed those thoughts aside when Megatron's cannon whined in anticipation. Nimbly twirling herself around, Starscream leaned on her leader and facilely propped his cannon arm on her right shoulder, blasting Sideswipe away from the duo.

When both Autobot's were properly dealt with, Megatron wasted no time lifting him and his aerial commander away from the scene. If the Decepticon femme wasn't already abashed when she left the ground without activating her own thrusters, Megatron's large hand around her waist did, and she curtly pushed him away by folding herself into her alt mode.

-------

That's not it.

'_That's not it!_'

'(_…That's not it…)_', she whispered in her mind, afraid that if she thought too loud, someone might hear it, even if their talents weren't the same as the clairvoyant Soundwave.

'_Megatron would not come back. A retreat is a retreat. Maybe a goodbye missile aimed at the Autobots wouldn't hurt, but…_' the red jet paced around her room, perplexed by her leader's change of routine. '_He would never come back. Never. Any Decepticon left behind should know that you either pick yourself up or choose_ _to be left behind._'

And he didn't. This in mind, Starscream grew more agitated by the astrosecond. Her emotions raced from simple anger to secret elation at the same time when she recalled the Decepticon leader personally 'retrieving' her from battle. Angry, because in all the millennia they lived together in the Decepticon army, Megatron always abandoned her to her fate, and her comrades knowing their routine, stopped asking why the red seeker was left behind. To grace her with his own special attention today made her happy, having broken the cycle of neglect and desertion towards her being. And back to anger.

Because _she_ was not any weakling Decepticon. She was Starscream, second-in-command, aerial commander and prodigy of the Decepticon war academy.

Only to be saved by Megatron, because she was falling behind.

Making her look _weak_.

The femme con raked her hands across her head in pure frustration. '_No, no one saw that, only the Autobots! And their opinions don't matter!_ _Jazz…WHAT THE-!_' She swatted the air beside her head, trying to physically distant a brief reflection of the Porsche from her train of thought like a nuisance. Placing her head back in her waiting hands, Starscream gently settled her newly painted rear on her recharge bed. The Constructicons had more than a good heckle at her damaged aft as soon as she placed herself belly down on the beds in the medical bay. In fact, every Decepticon in the med bay had a good laugh at her expense, forgetting their wounds and their exposed circuits, until she screeched and barked a raspy threat at the next laughing mouth, enforcing her words with a pair of charged null rays. From then on, the green and purple gestalt team repaired her without interruption, save for the usual grumbling hubbub in the room.

"Starscream. Come in, Starscream."

Fantastic. Just…great. Starscream opened her internal communications link.

"You require my service, oh mighty Megatron." Even her usual sarcastic zest was watered down by today's episode.

"Report to the war room immediately to brief Thundercracker and Skywarp for the next energon raid."

"…Fine."

"_Now._"

Click.

-------

Copyright: Transformers and all it's characters belong to Hasbro, Takara and/or all the people who own it. I don't claim I own them, except for the one's I made up, if I make any up.

A/N: There, that should have been put at the beginning. Doesn't Dirge remind you of Eeyore:D I just recently found out what a beta reader is. So I thank my sister for being one for the first few chapters, 'cause I was not really that confident to be honest. Now that I have grown some (cough)balls(cough) I thank you all again for supporting me. I'm sorry for being so slow with the chapters, please bear with me!


	17. Chapter 16: T Cursus

**Chapter 16: T. Cursus **

A/N: WAAAAAAAAAAAH! I got my brain working again! These past few weeks I've been so swamped, and with a dead brain stuck in limbo too. It pays to right down your ideas so you get it write! XD I know I am super corny, and just realised, the chapter title's abbreviation is TC ;) _UPDATE:_ Thanks to Syntia13 for pointing out my mistakes. I re-read my work and realised a few things that I would not have written because…because its weird!!! EWWW! XP

-------

"Thundercracker. Is it true that you purposely disobeyed Starscream's orders?"

"I didn't think it would work, my lord."

"It was an indirect order from me to you, you insolent seeker. Skywarp has his incompetence as an excuse, not you. Disobey me or Starscream again, and I will _personally-!_"

"**I'M**_ sorry_, oh _mighty_ Megatron."

The audience in the war room watching Thundercracker's mockery of the red seekers acrimony gave way to shock, and the blue seeker earned the aerial commanders disgust. Recognising a new breed of insubordination manifest in the Thundercracker, Megatron replied with intimidation, narrowing is blood red optics to dangerous slits, threatening to cut the blue jet into half. The stand-off between the grey and blue Transformer ceased as soon as Skywarp vocalisers made a sick gnarling cough, interrupting the heavy silence. Disregarding Thundercracker's behaviour as a childish fit, the Decepticon leader turned his attention elsewhere, leaving the blue jet to ball his fists tighter. A quick authoritarian hawk eye from Starscream undid Thundercracker's fingers to plant themselves back to his sides, albeit a little stiff.

"If you followed _my_ orders, Thundercracker," Starscream paused when their leader turned his back to them, "you and Skywarp wouldn't have to do this _next_ air raid. Collect the mission details from Soundwave…and don't come back until you've got something for us."

A whip from her hand in place of Megatron's told them to leave the room, and the two seekers did so with the remaining Decepticons. Thundercracker furrowed at the idea of Starscream staying behind solely in the company of the Decepticon leader, and paused to take a fleeting look before exiting the room in disappointment. Folding her arms to her chest, the red seeker thought she saw the reprimanded seeker look dejected, having partially understood the reason behind Thundercracker's moodiness. But like her leader, dismissed his irrational logic and gave the Decepticon leader her attention.

"Just what I need, another Starscream. Learn to hold your tongue, woman...the seekers are picking up your treacherous habits."

"Megatron, why did you go back to retrieve me in the last battle?"

"Why not?"

Starscream jerked her head back unsatisfied, already having difficulty swallowing his previous comment. "I didn't need to be saved-"

"I wasn't saving you, Starscream. It just peeves me that my second-in-command is a little slow leaving the battlefield."

"Wh-!" the femme con felt her leader's words nip at her inflated pride, and gnashed back with clenched teeth. "_SLOW?! **SLOW?!**_ I'm can be anything and everything but slow! _I_ didn't need to be _picked_ up! I could handle them myself! It's bad enough that everyone thinks I kissed your aft to become second-in-command of the Decepticon army, but to see me _looking_ incapable?! Tch!"

"What do you **_WANT_** _Megatron?!_"

The femme con had to bite back her lips to restrain herself, and to let her leader answer her demands. A nonchalant expression graced her leader's face throughout her blustering clamour, and remained in place even when she paused. The red seeker thought she hit a nerve when he casually folded his arms, his cold optics stonily fixated on her own. She felt her own flickering in consternation, and abruptly stopped when he opened his mouth.

"…What do I want?"

A good strong 'yes' screeched in retort, but Starscream's jaw was too petrified to move.

"…Come to my quarters, and I'll tell you."

"Is this some kind of joke, Megatron-? I-is this some kind of trick?"

"No, I've just been disregarding my systems needs, and it as been weeks since my last recharge cycle." Megatron placed a fist over his insignia in concern, and relaxed his fingers when the femme con scrutinised his being with a tilted head.

"…That's true. I haven't seen you inactive for-"

"Forty-seven days, thirteen hours and twenty-eight Earth minutes."

"…Right."

"Have you recharged yet?"

"No, but-"

"Come with me, and I'll tell you all you need to know."

"I say it's a trick," she snorted.

"And I say it's an order, so you either do it, or I'll have the Constructicons reassembling you, from scratch."

-------

The duo flew to their destination in complete silence, slowly suffocating the purple seeker. When it was not compulsory to keep their silence, they never failed to have a casual conversation, even if the other Decepticon's disagreed, especially Starscream. But their aerial commander was not present. Today was different. There was no animosity, no qualms between the two, but Thundercracker offered no response to Skywarp's desperate one-sided conversation, which quickly turned into regurgitated drivel.

"…Hey TC, c'mon…so you pissed Megatron off, Megatron pissed you off, Starscream scolded you for being a bad boy, but were Decepticons, we're always bad 'con, and this isnot our style right now! You know how it works. When I talk, you talk, when _you_ talk, **I** talk, y'know…(y'know?)"

"…Stop it. C'moooooon. Please, I hate it! Even the sound of my engine's gettin' boring! Pleaseplease_please-"_

Nothing.

"…**TC**. 'Yo, Thundercrackerh-rerh-rerh-rerh! Thundercrack_eeeeeee_r. Thunder, thunder, _Thundercracker_,** _HO-------!_**"

The human slang, 'spaced out' was an underrated description of the blue jet's mental state. Still, his purple friend did not give up.

"(Slag)…'Think Megatron and Starscream's making sparks-?"

"**_WHAT?!_**"

"'Kidding man, but that got your attention."

"They are not. They can't! I mean, they can, but they can't and they shouldn't-! The war has limited our resources, and raising a sparkling is a time and energy consuming matter, that's why we have new Decepticons made into fully formed Transformers, to eliminate the physical and mental growth process-! They can't because it's just too-!"

"Look 'con, I don't _need_ you to tell me about the robo-birds and turbo-bees! Slab, 'bet you wanna make sparks with her-**OW!** SLAG TC, I'm only speaking your mind for **you!**"

"Shut up. I don't see her like that."

"Yeah, but still. Wouldn't it be nice, you know, to connect with her system? Aw man, if I could, I'd link my wires with her legs first 'con, that'll be great-"

"SHUT. **UP**."

"Okay, okay. 'S not like she's _your_ girlfriend or anything."

"I don't understand."

"Me neither, you're being so-"

"No, I don't understand. She's with Megatron, _and_ the Autobot."

"So?"

"……Why can't she be with me?"

"Hey, you said it yourself, TC. She's with Megatron 'cause she wants ta' use him and dump him to become Super-Duper Queen Starscream (ruler of the Decepticons), and the Autobot 'cause she wants info or whatever the slag he can offer _us_. She's doing it for herself, and she doesn't see anything in those two. I guess…the 'Screamer don't wanna do stuff to us that'll hurt us, you know? We're her wing mates."

"(…She already has…)"

"What?"

"'Warp…what if she falls in too deep in her own plans? What if she starts liking one of them? Or-"

"Ew. Starscream liking Megatron like _that_. Ew, ew, _ew_. Gross, TC. I mean, sucking face with ol' Megs-"

"Primus, why must you _say_ **that?!** Slag, now it's stuck in my head-! _Primus **SLAGGIT!**_"

-------

She was a scientist and an explorer in her previous occupation, yet the femme con found her blue fingers fumbling inexpertly with the various coloured wires and circuits pouring from a small opening in her and her leader's chassis. Distracted from her original train of thought, Megatron watched in muted enthrallment at Starscream's slender digits trying its best to configure the compatible circuitry, slowly connecting them both together in a physical bond. Megatron waited patiently on his side like a reclining Buddha, never failing to exuberate an elevated mien from his carriage. This made his subordinates nervous when he allowed them to work on his internal machinery even without his cannon, and the medical team would spend a few seconds hovering in contemplation over their approach to his circuits, whether they were familiar to his systems or not. Starscream made herself an exception, being blatantly forward and crass with him, and when Megatron told her to connect their systems, she displayed no signs of lingering doubt and went straight to the task, laying on his recharge bed while they waited in their immortal bodies for time to stop.

"…There, I've sorted that out," she looked up from his chest. "Now, what's so secret that we have to leave our circuits in tentacles like this-?"

A rush of data streamed into her thoughts, instantaneously enveloping her mind as her head jolted from the mental impact, her optics flickering as if the information was going to flood her entire body. Opening the ports to their thought processors, both Transformers unconditionally allowed each other to invade the latter's consciousness, burying themselves in the core of their raw sentiments. Megatron braced the mental impact with squinted optics and revealed his latest plans on Cybertron, but the female seeker would fully rehearse it later, currently too preoccupied with the other emotions the grey Decepticon siphoned to her. Unable to control her mindset, the seeker's reciprocated spontaneously, making Megatron soften his expression. He grabbed her arm and pulled her closer as her head wilted to his chest, letting Starscream know that her body was securely poised even though her mind was uncontrollably spinning.

Half a breem later, the red seeker's mind went blank, and she looked up at her leader, a little shaken from the mental reel. Having nothing and nowhere to hide, Starscream was visibly upset as a small wave of irresolution and remorse drifted to her unsound senses.

"(How)…How could you feel this way…" Starscream breathed her whispers, trembled in Megatron's tightened grip. '_…I-…It's not fair…_'

"…And what about you, my little seeker?" Megatron picked up her head in his fingers, and saw Starscream grace a rare expression never before seen on her countenance.

"…I-…" Starscream choked back her words. She didn't need to say anything more.

-------

A/N: Comparing Megatron to Buddha…I felt my moral alarms going off like crazy 8I 'Probably going to correct the chapters again, 'cause I'm so shmart! XP Which I did:) Yeah, if Megatron did not hold onto her there and she fell off, he'd go down with her! I'd like to see that! XDDD


	18. Chapter 17: Before You Go

**Chapter 17: Before You Go…**

A/N: Seekers can hide their wings y'know? It's 6.30 in the morning, and my eyes have fallen into my ginormous eye bags, how convenient! (Croaks)

-------

_Previously in the 'Cave of Love'…_

"So…when are we gonna meet again? 'Usual time, angel?"

"Jazz, I'm not going to be able to make it for the next two weeks-"

"Me too! What a surprise!"

Both Autobot and Decepticon squinted suspiciously at each other, the saboteur playfully taking a lighter expression of the strange coincidence. A pair of blue arms slowly folded into a neat pretzel knot, and Jazz whistled an innocent tune to Starscream's fixated glare.

"Jazz."

"Yes angel pumpkin?"

'_Angel pumpkin?!_' she pouted further. "...Since we made a promise to each other to not talk about the civil war, all I have to say to you is, I'm not going to be available because I'm taking my holiday leave."

"…_My,_ holiday**, leave**." she hissed in emphasis.

Jazz's audio-touching grin coupled with his cheeky demeanour undermined the black look radiating from the femme con. As the Porsche was accustomed to her mannerisms, Jazz explained his reasons for not being available in his own unique verbalisms.

"Well, I'm gonna miss you, flyin' off on holiday and all…." Jazz folded his arms behind his back and rubbed the tip of his foot on the ground innocently. "I'm just _not_ going to Cybertron because I'm _not_ supposed to be spying on the Decepticon aerial commander. You know, her _not_ going with no Decepticonny reasons an' all..."

"That's so, sad, _Jazz_…" the indignant femme con harrumphed and whipped her head to the ceiling, "-because, I'm just _not_ going to Cybertron for a holiday, noooo…I'm _not_ going to take a good rest after nine million years. I'm going to do evil, eeevil 'Decepticonny' things, like _not_ visiting friends, or _not_ having fun, or _not_ settling my well-overdue accounts on Cybertron-" Jazz continued to giggle underneath his breath, while Starscream trivialized nonsensically.

"Slag, I might just _not_ get so angry at my nosey Autobot boyfriend that I'll _not_ go off to some Cybertronian bar and swing my sexy tailgate for _alllll_ the cute Decepticon guys to see, who are much, _much_ handsomer than any cheap Autobot garbage-!"

"So that means you think Deceptidudes are ugly and Autobot's are (ahem), _da' _**bomb?**" Jazz took a hearty slap on his shoulder before the crazed Decepticon female leapt on his white back and rode the imbalanced Autobot like a bull. Laughing with the joke, the saboteur had to regain more than his footing with a pair of unruly legs in his arms, kicking up a wild frenzy with each pendular swing.

"Oh bot, I got Deceptiglomped!"

"You Autoboob _jerk_! You stupid simpleton!" Starscream rained her fists on his head like a drum, and Jazz had to release her legs to catch her equally unrestrained arms. In a dull clamp her feet were latched onto his waist and his hands in hers, the jovial Autobot pranced around the cave with the unfortunate passenger on his back.

"What are you doing-what's wrong with you?! ACK-!" Jazz swung the confused seeker from his back and leaned her over, cradling her head gently in his hands.

"Ah, my little darling, it is love at first sight, is it not, no? Affair d'amour? Affair d'coeur? Je ne sais quoi ... je vis en espoir, my sweet peanut of brittle," he stroked her head in a comical fashion, rubbing his nose affectionately against hers. Opening her mouth to scream in protest Jazz insisted and squashed his face onto hers, making a sharp sucking sound with his puckered lips on her delicate pair. If the badly parodied foreign language did not frighten her, the alien noise coming from their faces did the trick and the Decepticon second-in-command had to pry their faces apart with flustering hands. Popping off her lips, Jazz laughed harder when her chiding reverted back to the Cybertronian language, and she only clamed herself down when he laughter dies down to a weak chuckle.

"Hey angel, you seem different today. What's up?"

Starscream looked up at Jazz, and simply smiled back.

"Hmm…I'm just excited about the holiday."

-------

"Oh con, we've never had a holiday like this in ages! **_EYAAAAAOOOOOUUUHHHH!!!!!!!_" **the purple seeker scooted his wings and spun on the ground playing air guitar, straining his vocal chords to some popular human music. Despite his over ecstatic enthusiasm, Thundercracker had to admit he shared the same sentiment the overturned seeker was feeling right now. It had been too long since the trio had taken leave together. Starscream's erratic schedule as the second-in-command of the Decepticon army taxed her freedom outside work, his unexplained hesitation and Skywarp insisting that if he were to take leave, he must include his wing mates, or he would not go at all. And they agree wholly, for no one in their right mind would leave the purple seeker to his own devices.

Truth being told, if Starscream had not posed the question of taking joint leave with her wing mates, they would have been forced to accompany her. Even if the majority of Cybertron was Decepticon territory, it does not omit the fact that there are Autobots lurking in the vicinity who would attempt to assassinate one of the Decepticon's most valued commanders. Thundercracker didn't care, as long as she was away from Megatron. That way, she can devote her time solely to him (and Skywarp), and maybe, just maybe, he could convince her to change her mind over her whole 'femme fatale' scheme.

-------

'_I can't believe I'm going back to see him again. It's been too long._' Starscream paced along the halls, letting her feet and mind wonder at the same time. '_Then again, I'm not surprised. My creator is a brilliant genius, no doubt. That's why I am his creation. As the humans say, '_the apple does not fall far from the tree_', because, humans need metaphors to explain their pathetic existence. He's a Decepticon loyalist desperate to serve our leader but can't find the means to until now, and Megatron needs something my creator can make. Who would know the secret location of the hermits abode? Who has direct connections with the Decepticon leader? You've really planned this out, haven't you, oh mighty Megatron? A mission in guise of a holiday, a prodigal daughter returning to her creator to make amends, the perfect drama…It almost seems too perfect.'_

She stopped in front of a familiar pair of doors, dully shucking open to invite her into Megatron's quarters. For a Transformer with little possessions, Megatron had the biggest room, defeating its purpose of being generously spacious. Standing in the center of the hollow room was the leader of the Decepticons, looking stoic as he observed the items poured onto his recharge bed. Starscream's curiosity grew in interest as she scanned the items laid out; as much as he revealed when they both connected, the tyrant having possessions was as strange as him showing gentile emotions. Glancing at his pitiful number of valuables, Starscream found it laughable.

"What took you so long?"

'_Impatient-_'

"The Autobot asks too many questions. But they do know of my trip back to Cybertron."

"Of course they do." Megatron's replied rather plaintively. "Come here."

Standing patiently behind her leader, Starscream found a wave of purple cloth float at her, with a stray corner teasingly brushing past her hand. Placing his hands on her shoulders, Megatron clipped the mantle into place when the cloak settled on her back, leaving her magnificent wings undisturbed. Unlike other delicate forms of life, Transformers had little need for clothing to protect or hide the embarrassments a vulnerable body faces, and to wear an article of clothing was for more secondary purposes. Donning her frame was Megatron's regal cape, flashing the colours of Decepticon royalty, recognised by any Transformer who had optics to see. Grabbing the smooth cloth, Starscream slowly contoured her body with it, and looked at Megatron for a reason.

"No rogue Decepticon would trouble you when they see this," he stated flatly.

"But…it-…I don't need-…" Starscream rarely found herself at loss for words, and looked down at her fists wrapped in the purple cloak. The only time she saw Megatron wearing it was when he became known as the leader of the Decepticons, and every Transformer that laid optics on him rendered themselves into a stupefied awe.

'_You're making it harder for me to betray you…_'

A wide smirk touched Megatron's face. "Don't get too comfortable with it, Starscream. I want it back in pristine condition when you come back-" He stopped when he felt a pair of hands encircle his waist, with the cloak still in her hands, she returned the kind gesture with an affectionate embrace.

'…_and I hate the way you show it. You are a clever rascal, but..._'

"I will not fail." Her words echoed through somber room, and a black hand held her head to rest it on his shoulders, their figures encompassing each other.

"Good."

And she smiled sadly to herself.


	19. Chapter 18: Fiew fiew fiew!

**Chapter 18: Fiew fiew fiew!**

A/N: I cannot estimate when the civil war started…9 million years (or vorns) seems too short, so I'm going to forget that idea! I watched the cartoon series and remembered, the war has been going on way before Megatron and Optimus Prime's time, and each faction has done the victory dance now and then, so its never really gonna end :P Transformers have it tough. Eh-heh, 6000 hits! Thank you very much for your support! AOOUUHHH!!! XD

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_Oh. My. Primus. We're here! We're slagging here! Cybertron, con! WOO-HOOO!!!!!_

…_Oh wait, I went back last week to guard some energon shipments, ya-da, ya-da, ya-da…um._

…_WHOO-**HOOOOOO!!!! **SCREAMER AND TC! _YEAH!_ **Finally!** Con, its been too long, gotta say. I mean, the trip only takes like, what? A few human hour-…wait, hours or seconds, ah, slag that! Back on Cy-ber-trawun! Primus! Geez! 'Screamer had to get some stupid purple cape-thingy Megatron gave her and TC's all, '_Boo-hoo, I want 'Screamer, my creators don't love me-_' yeah, whatever. Oh, wow. Wow. It's Megatron's special cape. Oh slag. I almost forgot. Oh con, no one's gonna touch her. But she put it away anyway, yeah…not now. No point being some obvious slagging target, y'know?_

_Slag! We haven't gone on a holiday like this for...one…two…fourteen bajillion vorns! Oh slag! This is the best, ever!!! 'Screamer mentioned that she wanted to see her creator, the old guzz-bag. I thought he disowned her or somethin' 'cause she wanted to join the army. Oh well. It's good, it's all good. TC…don't get ME started, him and his Autobot mommy and daddy issues. Sheesh, everyone's got creator issues. 'S nothing wrong bein' a con! Cons look out for each other, y'know? I think? …Well, we do anyway. 'Screamer and TC's like, brothers and sisters to me. Seriously, I love them. Okay, TC worries too much, and 'Screamer's a snobby bitch and she's getting really ticked off right now 'cause TC's walking too close to her. Slag, when she took that cape off, even I can see that dolt get happier all of a sudden. We all know you like her a LOT, con! The WHOLE Decepticon army knows! Even the turbo foxes know! Ah slag, I need a drink right now._

"Okay guys, let's get into the holiday routine." Starscream held up her arm with her communicator open and her wing mates followed suit.

"Holiday _routine?_ Since when did our holidays have a rou-" Thundercracker chirped, and Starscream snapped back. "Shut up. Now, on my count Decepticons. Three…two…one!"

Lifting their index fingers, the trio happily disconnected all communication with Earth and the Decepticon army with the click of a button, and flipped their communicators shut. Skywarp could only smile wider. Clapping his hands, the purple seeker trotted ahead of the red and blue seeker, dancing out of the space bridge tower.

"No fleshies for a good week! No squishy noises under my feet! IIIIIIII am a happy happy con! Hap hap happy happy! Dee-doo-dee-doo fiew-fiew-fiew-!" The purple Decepticon sang his own lyrics to a broken tune, fully absorbed in a mood one might express if the war was over.

_There he goes again, with his routine. Okay, fine, I admit it (to myself). We _**HAVE**_ a holiday routine. 'Warp's gonna sing some weird song he made up when we were traveling through the space bridge (which was not very long). He's going to sing some random lines, then 'improvise' the rest of his song with some very bad scat, repeating the same tune over and over again. Then, he's going to say he's thirsty and we have to go-_

"Dee-doo-dee-doo-! Hey cons, I'm thirsty. Let's go to-"

_-The one bar that never ever closes. Not even if the civil war sank a thermonuclear bomb through its roof._

"-Coldshot's bar. The bar that never closes, the bar that never closes!"

_The bar that never closes, through thunder storms and meteor showers, or Devastator-seized hail…Starscream's going to say we need to settle our aft's down._

"Well, I have luggage. Let's go back to my place and settle our-"

"-Aft's down."

"What was that TC?"

"Nothing, commander Starscream."

"Fine. We'll go to 'Screamer's place first to drop Megatron's looooove cloak, then we can go to Coldshot's."

_Insert Skywarp's joke about Starscream's beautiful legs._

"TC, when she's overcharged, you grab her arms, so I can grab her hot legs-"

_Starscream's gonna hit him with her hot legs and say something about 'Warp being too apparent-_

"Skywarp, it's not advisable to make say your plans aloud, especially when it jeopardizes your failing _HEALTH!_"

_Crunk._

"**Aoooooowww!!!** I was only jokin'!"

"Lay one wrong finger on me and I'll make sure the smelting pools have _their_ way with you, you disgusting foot pervert."

…_Starscream, you can't win with Megatron. If anything, he's going to find out about your plans, and get even with you. He might even be doing it right now, and you don't know it. I bet he is. Megatron doesn't care about anyone but himself. He's only with you to make himself happy, don't you know? He's done it so many times with other femme cons, even if they had no agenda against him._

…_I wouldn't do that to you._

"Did you see that?" Skywarp quipped, pointing a finger at a stray antenna on a building. Thundercracker was slower to react, but the red seeker's optics shot a concentrated stare at its direction. Finding nothing to disturb their holiday, Starscream waved off Skywarp's paranoia and moseyed on, growing irritated at the time wasted on gazing idiotically at buildings and kicking purple seekers.

"We aren't the only Transformer's that fly the skies you dolt, so let's get moving," Starscream grumbled and they went on their way. She wanted to give the benefit of the doubt to whomever was watching them, that they (or she alone), 'didn't' notice its presence.

-------

"(D'you think she saw us?)" the Autobot cassette deck peeped his ears out from their hiding place.

"(Of course she saw us! The cat's eyes are sharp, man! And you're not exactly Mirage either.)" Jazz added to his comment.

"(What happened to him? I thought he'd be itching to come back for a bit?)" Blaster looked at the saboteur questioningly.

The saboteur looked pensive at Blaster before answering his question. "(Prime didn't want 'Raj to go AWOL on us if he came along, y'know? Plus, the bot's got Earthly duties…I was thinking of asking Prime at first, but after talking to 'Raj, the big boss looked pretty steamed.)"

"('Last time I saw the Ligier bot, he wasn't lookin' too good either. When I said 'ello, he just-)"

"('Disappeared?)"

"(Pretty much.)" Blaster shrugged. "(An' I don't think we're the only ones spying on that fine lady con, look!)"

Blaster cocked his head upward at the building a few blocks away, and Jazz's optics brightened behind his visors upon spotting the small Decepticon. Stoically perched out of sight from the Transformers below (save for the Jazz and Blaster), Laserbeak remained motionless, keeping its professional silence down to its motor systems. The condor skipped into flight when the espied seekers drifted away from its optics, and casually soared to find the next suitable post for its metallic feet.

"(Huh! What's bird breath doing here?)" Blaster cocked his head with the malignant sneer.

"(I thought you should know by now, man, you spend too much time in space. Megs and Star's an item!)"

"(Dyaaaaaaum………why am I not surprised?)"

"(Ah, it's obvious. An' Big Bird's here just to make sure the missus don't get in troubs.)"

"(Missus _is_ trouble)."

"(C'mon, Miss Megatron's movin')". The saboteur's hand retreated into his arm to replace a grappling hook, and lassoed the nearest building. Transforming into a red and yellow boom box, the Porsche caught Blaster by the handle and prepared to swing them both across. "(If they really are on a holiday, there's nothing to worry 'bout too much. We can spend some time catchin' up with our peeps on Cybertron.)"

Blaster kept quiet in deep thought, coming to a conclusion when Jazz's feet found stable footing.

"(…I say we call 'em Megastar.)"

"(Screamertron.)"

"(Megascream….Why are we whisperin'? No one's around!)"

"…I dunno."

-------

_I think its better that I wear the cloak now. Just a breem ago, some uncivilized grunt made a rather insipid pass at me. Does anyone _not_ recognise the paintjob?! I am Starscream, second-in-command of the Decepticon army, elite aerial commander of the finest seekers Cybertron has to offer **AND** the War Academy's undisputed prodigy! I DEMAND the respect I deserve!__Taught that lowlife a lesson all right. With a demotion from his rank and five demerits, the fool would dare not lay an optic sensor or wag that uncultured tongue at me! Punishment does not limit itself verbally of course, and I have Thundercracker and Skywarp to thank for beating some extra sense into him. I mean, I would have no problem doing it myself, but I don't _need_ to scratch my paintjob over _that_ piece of slag. _

…_Ho-hum, his legs fail him._

"You there! Pick up your 'comrade' and send him to the nearest medical bay. If he ceases to function, learn from his mistakes, and _try_ not to forget."

_Yes, yes, nod, nod. These sparklings know nothing. Beauty and intelligence rarely make a couple, but my presence has proved a point. Sadly, the majority of the pariah Transformers prefer to bask in their ignorance, so I wrap myself with the cloak, partially covering my body. No one is ignorant to the Decepticon colours of power and royalty. _

"I thought you didn't want to wear it? So we're not going back to your place first?"

"Unfortunately for me, TC, men can't keep their optics and their cockpits shut, so its straight to Coldshot's."

"…Hee hee…cockpit…"

_Oh, for Primus sake, can you stop _sulking_ Thundercracker? If I wanted you see a face like that, I'd have brought Dirge and Dead End with me! …How eerie would it be if those two became a mini-gestalt. All we have to do is send 'Moperemocon' out on the battlefield with a megaphone, and the Decepticons would have won the war in astroseconds._

"Skywarp, the jokes over, you can stop laughing now."

"Hee hee…you said cockpit."

_Yes, we all have cockpits, even me. _

_We continue on with our journey, my wing mates flanked by my sides like bodyguards. Ah, here it is…and he's refurbished the entrance. I'm surprised, the old coot has finally mended the sign, after nine million years. It's more inviting now, I must say. Friendly, even._

"Con…he **actually** fixed the sign…he…he-!"

"I know Coldshot's bar better than ANYONE on Cybertron! Five energon cubes for Skywarp, _whoop whoop! _Told ya' TC!"

"Slaggit!"

_I swear, Skywarp must have some kind of psychic connection with this bar._

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A/N: I would really like Mirage to go…:'( Wrote too much for this chapter, so I had to split it up! Trying to get things movin'! X)


	20. Chapter 19: 23 and a Half

**Chapter 19: 23 and a Half Energon Cubes…**

A/N: Accidentally wrote three chapters in two days 'cause I got caught in the moment! 8P But I'm gonna post them later 'cause I have to check for mistakes and such, so if the writing seems casual, bad or just childish (having done it in such a short time), please bear with me, I'll correct them XP There's more of Starscream's POV in here, because, it IS her story :)

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_Recap._

_Twenty-three and a half cubes of high grade energon ago, I, Starscream, walked into this bar, which is very-much loved by the seeker amongst us called Skywarp. Thundercracker knows what to do and asks for our usual drinks. It has been too long for me since I've heard those words, and I can feel a small smile creep to my lips. Barflies shift their optics to look at me, taking a little longer to revert their stares back to their drinks and/or their companions. Having a female Decepticon show herself around this time of the 'night' (the darkest hour I must add; we don't have that 'largest' star in the sky, or what those digit-sized apes call the sun. Starscream to Earth, the sun ISN'T the biggest star. I've seen bigger. And our moons are just as bright sometimes). _

_Where are the Decepticon females? At home of course, waiting for the men to return, and not wondering the streets, looking for strangers to outrage their modesty. Yes, any other female Transformer can walk outside except us, because were…well, were property. _Tch_. Makes you wonder why I put on a male disguise for a few million vorns, does it? Which brings me to the next fact: there are a few types of femme cons that come out at this time of the night, mostly work related. An equally rare but dangerously alluring bounty hunter might be looking for a job. You can tell when you see a femme con literally decorated with artillery, sporting less fashionable, less effeminate__ colours. They contrast the younger generation of naive giggly sparkling females, who's idea of danger and mystery involves breaking curfew (Wow, CAN you smell the danger? Whoop-tee-doo)._

_Other nocturnal Decepticon femmes of the work-related field serve in bars like this, mostly inhabited with male Transformers. So it is safe to say, femmes who work at these hours cater to the our parasitic overpopulated male counterparts on Cybertron. Better be working with them then **on** them I suppose. Eyuckh. _

_Oh, my…what the-?! _

"Slag TC! D'ya see that d'ya see that?! THREE, femme cons-! Three-" Skywarp looked back and forth from the females and Starscream. "See! SEE! When one comes out, the others follow! 'S like some mystical femme callin' or somethin'-!"

_Can Skywarp clamp his vocals unit shut! And who are 'Charlie's Angels'?! That retardacon must be referring to some obscure human television show. Oh no oh no, they're coming towards me, TC get them away from me-!_

_Too late._

"On my Primus, its Starscream! We're your BIGGEST FANS!!!" the two pink, white and teal females squealed in unison, jumbling their limbs together in delight. The darker, more level-headed femme con behind them rolled her head in sarcasm and shoved the other two females aside to meet Starscream.

"Starscream, it's a pleasure to meet you…" the voice of a rational mind from the darker femme charmed Starscream's audios.

_Pleasures all mine. And Thundercracker's too. I think Skywarp's rolling his tongue back in, can't see past all those pink and white and teal and white and pink white teal…Primus, what happened to decent paint jobs! Other than this one on front of me, even the blind would agree with me that those two femmes are too bright!_

"Many of us have been keeping up with the news from Earth, but when we heard about you …On behalf of the femme cons, you're an inspiration to us all, Miss Starscream!"

"Please, call me Starscream," the aerial commander pushed her confident grin wider and received the femmes outstretched palm.

_I shake hands with her, she takes out a data pad, I sign it, receive two more, sign them, and talk about my exploits if they've missed anything (they shouldn't have)-oh._

…_I've got an idea to keep _those_ bimbocons busy._

"Have you met my wing mates? This is Thundercracker-" Starscream pointed to said seeker, taking a coy glance behind is energon drink, "-and Skywarp." Adorning each arm, the two brightly-coloured femmes were tickling the purple jet's chin, and the trio erupted into a spastic fit of giggles.

"Hee hee…don't! I'm ticklish! C'mon ladies, let 'Warp buy you a high grade drink-!"

_Ah, energon. The cheapest date rape drug known to all Transformers. Underestimated and overused by both genders alike. Here's a simple equation: Skywarp plus naïve(femme cons) divided by HGEnergon, times mental black hole and giggling stupidity, infinity squared. Find '_x_'._

_And the answer is: x equals intelligence. There is no _x

_Twenty-three and a half cubes of high grade energon later though…_

-------

"Why don't you take a picture, it lasts longer, you slaggin'…pwluh." Starscream shook a weak fist at the lecherous table eyeballing her in the corner. '_How **dare** it say such, such-!'_

Thundercracker had no sound advice to offer Starscream to deter the depraved metal upholstery from upsetting her modesty, choosing to sob and gurgle in his energon cube. "I don't get it 'Screamer…why can't my creators just accept me the way I am? I'm a Decepticon, but…but I'm still their Thunder, y'know? …Y'know?" The blue seeker dunked his heavy head in the cube, splashing some droplets on the dark femme failing to consoling him.

With two armfuls of Decepticon females, Skywarp's day couldn't have been any better. Giggling to her own voice, one pink and white femme con was busy whispering some form of adult debauchery to the purple jet's audio, and they both succumbed to immature sniggers. The other femme was carelessly burning her personal contact number in a large font on his wing with her hand laser. Starscream thought it was best to cart themselves back to her home, and stood up to announce her decision.

"…Okay, I am quite sober now. C'mon guys, let's go home."

"HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!!!!!!" Skywarp hollered.

'_Giggle, snigger, giggly snig,' says the purple drunkard. Oh no, he's gonna start, isn't he-?_

"I know a song that gets on ev'rybody's nerves! I know a song that gets on ev'rybody's nerves! I know a song that gets on ev'rybody's nerves and it sounds, just like thiiiiiiiis!" Skywarp clapped his hands to the song. "C'mon everybody, all together now! I know a song that gets on ev'rybody's nerves-!"

_Holy slag, now those two chattercons have started. _"C'mon 'Warp, help me carry 'Boo-Hoo' over here!" The red seeker shrugged her blue wing mate's arm over her shoulders in time, to catch a breath of energon and misery from his vocaliser.

"An-! I sent then a letter but they didn't-!"

_Oh Primus, Thunder' just snorted on his own nasal fluids._

"I KNOW A SONG THAT GETS ON EV'RYBODY'S NERVES-!"

_Oh my Primus, Megatron. Why did I ask them to follow me, why, **WHY?!** No matter. When I rest their stupid afts home, I can get on with my mission…_

_Ah, I see you've sent Laserbeak to spy on me…how trusting. Buzzsaw must be somewhere near by too…And Jazz is following it, hello lover. Oh! _Very_ observant Laserbeak, the Autobots are chucking scrap iron at you! Now you have better things to look at! Ah, home sweet home._

…_Now I can drop by my creator's hollowed out junk cave for a visit…I haven't see him in ages…_

…_I don't miss him…_

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A/N: ARGH! Go see him already! Argh! Argh! Yargh! Why am I delaying it?!!!! XPPP


	21. Chapter 20: The Prodigal Child

**Chapter 20: The Prodigal Child**

A/N: Yay, on to the REAL story! Minds been driftin' long enough :P I think this one's gonna be a long one, not sure…

For those who don't know, '**empties'** are Transformers that are always low on energon, which they use as a derogatory term.

-------

There are just some places a seeker cannot fly into. One of them being the narrow alleyways in a place so aptly named Junk Zero, because one, it was the largest capital wastelands of Cybertron and two, the area was gifted with mountains of semi-melted slagged parts or unwanted corpses. Located in the southern regions of Cybertron (conveniently near the smelting pools), most of the Transformers that can tolerate the aberrant stench of decay to reside there were empties, and low profiled criminals. Safety was ironically the basic need that drove Transformers to such a place, next to business of the unwanted sorts in a moral society. Scientists, robbers, dealers, no matter what they were called, they worked under the same name to procure whatever they wanted. To survive there, all one needed was ample fire power to prevent desperate empties from begging or mauling, and common sense to never wander into Junk Zero unless you had a very good reason to.

Which explains Starscream's predicament. Squeezing sideways into a narrow pathway to crumple out of the other end, the Decepticon second-in-command felt a furious emotion rise to her fuel pump. The old routes had changed drastically ever since she returned, and she was far from happy at the 'improvements'. What used to be a narrow alleyway became an unconventional tube to squeeze herself out of, and no amount of grousing could remedy her situation. She had already stumbled, tripped and almost ate the ground to get to her destination, and she was not going to give up now, no…this was more than a route to her old home.

…It was her creator testing her patience. Or something like that.

Rustling her dark cloak from any debris and unwelcome dirt underground, Starscream looked up at the broken scraps and empty shells, congealed into place as a makeshift entrance. Blatantly positioned over the arid door was a dim light and a very large machine gun, aimed at whomever chose to stand directly in front of the door.

'_At least the floors…a floor._' Starscream thought, too glad to feel smooth, balanced metal sheets under her feet.

…_Oh well._

"Ding-dong."

Starscream waited for an equally sarcastic, graveled reply behind the rust-coloured wall.

"(If you want in, you'll have to remove the hood, dear)," a deep, aged worn voice rung behind the sliding doors.

"Slag you, Triburst."

"Hmm, that _is_ the incorrect password, because there is no password," the voice chimed. "…Who are you?"

'_He kind of recognises me…it's him all right. "An accent firm and matured with age, acquirable only through knowledge and the intellects such as I, Triburst."'_ Starscream cringed at the vocal memory playing back in her head. '_Slag you, daddy dearest. Now let me in!_'

Starscream yanked her own hood away from her head and looked straight at the door.

"I know there's a hidden camera somewh-"

The doors shrieked in protest to be forcibly opened by a pair of worn hands, abusing the cogs in the automatic system. Standing with his arms apart and blocking the passageway was a large imposing seeker, as tall as the entrance itself. The older seeker earned his outsized stature from obsolete designs in favour of the smaller frames adopted by newer seekers. Sporting a dark olive paintjob fully ignored by maintenance, his hands and his feet were marked with vorns of abuse, hatched away to reveal the raw grey metal. Yellow optics glowed sentimentally deep in recognition of his own creation.

"Starscream…!"

She looked up with a cocked optic. "…Triburst-WOAH!!!" And was hastily pulled into his workshop, the doors slamming in outrage. Dropping her from his arms, Starscream almost fell on her aft if he didn't grab her again by the sides underneath her arms. The red seeker quickly snaked out of his grasp and leapt a measurable distance away from her creator, turning her wings at him to snub the older seeker.

"Don't forget who I am now, father! You were against my military pursuits, so don't think of getting comfortable just because I've achieved what you cannot even afford to _dream_ of!" She held her breath to scrutinize his workshop cum home. "I've not forgotten about you disowning me, and I'm not here to get your _apology_ either!"

"…You called me father…"

_Slag…slaggit. Well…I can't reveal what I really want, you might not know who's listening in. Not that I _**have**_ to, we know what _we're_ here for-_

…_Is it me, or has he actually tidied his workplace?_

Starscream turned around to face her creator, who was dangling his hands incompetently in front of her. Taking a quick glance at his worn digits in concern, Starscream mentally furrowed at his bodywork.

_I don't owe him anything, and I don't have to do anything to get what Megatron needs. He readily offered to give his invention, his little knick-knack for the good of the Decepticon empire-_

"Triburst you're useless! Eight million vorns fly by and you just shifted your junk around in this hovel of a workshop! You can't even repaint your own arms!"

_Don't get back into your old habits Starscream, this old bufoon's not worth your time! Remember what he said to you? Hmm? Remember how he cast you out? How he wanted you to be like all those other empty-headed femmes, except you had proper articulation?_

The red seeker thrust her index finger to the medical bed cum workshop bench situated in the middle of the room, trying to avoid looking at the elder seeker, whose gaze was completely lost in her bad manners.

"Sit there, useless!"

_He only wanted you to learn so you can entertain the men with clever conversations! So you can find a suitable mate who would laugh at your girlish tittering!_

The proud aerial commander dropped to an unfeminine squat to rummage through a dirty cupboard, flinging away miscellaneous tools that were in her hand's way. Plucking a spray gun from the recess of the cupboard, she shook and tested the dirty battered thing, to find it still working quite well. Throwing it aside for later use, she scrounged further for a full paint can, creating a scattered mess around her body.

_So he can give you away, to get rid of you because he doesn't need you anymore! That's why he disowned you when you wanted to join the Decepticon ranks! You ruined his plans to get rid of you the 'right' way! But he can't get rid of all this-!_

"How do you live through all this TRASH?!"

"Welcome to Junk Zero!"

"_SHUT UP!!!_" she barked him into submission.

_You stupid useless father! How can a genius think when he's aft deep in slag! This is what Transformer Hell looks like! What are you trying to do, make a Junkion **PROUD?!** IDIOT!_

The green seeker obediently kept quiet observing his creation's hectic movements, staring dumbly at her back. Starscream shook furiously from stirring the contents of the can in her arms with a long piece of iron, and readied the spray gun when the coagulated paint was fluid enough.

When she picked up the spray gun, it helpfully crumbled into pieces.

"**SLAGGIT! SLAGGIT! _SLAGSLAGSLAG!!!_**" the femme con stomped her delicate feet and threw a tantrum at the broken clutter on the floor, kicking it astray.

-------

Moments later, Triburst found his right arm with a refreshing coat of…maroon paint, the only colour Starscream could find in the phenomenal mess. A sleek cold blue arm supported his left hand being sanded as olive flakes danced from his arm, fluttering to the floor. The clean reflection of the new stickers adorned each of his wings, gleaming with Decepticon patriotism. A handmade paintbrush stroked his arm now, giving his arm extra luster. The yellow optics belonging to Triburst scrutinized Starscream's unquestioned devotion to his well-being.

"…If you're still angry at me after many vorns-" the paintbrush slid across his arms in a more chary motion, "…then I un-disown you."

Starscream's hands held the paintbrush still, before resuming her current task with a more gentle sweep. "The word you're looking for is adopt (you old fool)."

The two kept an callow silence, reverting their gaze to the paintbrush in quiet solace. After a breem or so, the older mech raised his free hand, tapping and retreating his fingers into a loose fist until he settled them warmly on her shoulder. Wholly alien to the physical affection Triburst offered to his creation after countless years, Starscream hastily shrugged his uninvited hand off her shoulder, and continued painting the polished metal with a rigid stiffness running down her arm.

"I see you on the news sometimes…a talented scientist, a cunning soldier, a groveling coward-" his arm took a jab from the sharp end of the paintbrush, "-Megatron's partner…"

"Make's you proud of the daughter you never had, hmm? Its _so_ fun reminiscing with a living fossil."

"…My little Star's changed a lot…" Triburst looked down musing to himself, leaving Starscream to wince at her childhood moniker.

"That's what a few million years does to you, Triburst. And a smart-mouth creator."

The old seeker snorted back at her. "Star, I know you're going to leave soon, so I just want you to know…"

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A/N: Eyipes! Cliffhanger! …Or a chapter cut short 'cause its too long ;P I don't know why I associate olive colour with old people, but I like it. Triburst is: Reaowr! Hiss! _Wh-kssh!_ So whipped by Starscream XD


	22. Chapter 21: The Old Fool

**Chapter 21: The Old Fool**

A/N: Okay, bad habit kicking in, dragging the chapters on :O NOOOO!!!! If I make any mistakes, please forgive me X. This chapters quite long, so it'll take a while to search and correct! And most importantly, thank you for all your reviews and taking time to read my fanfic. I'll do my best!

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"…So I just want you to know…" the green seeker was cut short by his creation.

"That you weren't the only one who created me, that I was not made by one Transformer but two, a beautiful femme con and her ugly slag-faced mate but she met an untimely departure from this world leaving a broken old seeker and their creation waiting for a physical body to fill with her spark?"

A pair of raised optics met Starscream's reserved expression in reply.

"……Well-…that's _one_ of the-"

"You can't hide datapads and pictures from inquisitive sparklings. It's a natural trait of the talented." Starscream felt a large digit flick at her nose and she instinctively swiped the brush end across the green seekers face.

"Nosey little Star." Triburst commented, leaving the paint to glide down his face. "Now you know."

"Yes, I do."

"…Well, what do you think?"

"I think you're an afthole who keeps secrets because you're a broken con. My mother was a beautiful Decepticon female and I you never said anything. All you did was make a pillow out of shaved iron clippings so I won't hurt my head, _because_ I woke up unfinished, all thanks to you know _who_." The red seeker felt her fuel pump skip a beat as old memories haunted her cerebral circuits. "From then on, all you did was suffocate me with your incessant, cosseting _molly_coddle, just to lull me into a false sense of security. And when things didn't go your way-"

"I only did what I thought was right, little Star-"

"YOU DID IT BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T WANT TO GET HURT YOU SENTIMENTAL FOOL! SO YOU REJECTED ME AS YOUR CREATION!"

The paintbrush shot fiercely across the room, splattering red wine droplets across the scene. Following it was the canister of maroon paint, finishing the job in making the walls resemble a clichéd murder scene. Triburst gradually dropped his elbow to his knee, propping a heavy chin on his hand. Looking at the infuriated aerial commander with a tired look, the old seeker harboured little care for what she was going to say next, and watched his daughter pace and rant around the room, cleverly referring to him in the most derogatory terms. He silently took the fury of the femm cons words shooting out of her chin-wagging mouth, creating an onslaught of unpleasantries echoing around the room.

'_Got to let it all out, Star? …Hmm, this seems all to familiar-oh _yes' the old seeker delved in his own thoughts. "(You've definitely taken after your mother. Vocally)."

"What did you say?!"

"I said you're a big-headed wind bag of a femme con with no style, and a _lot_ of crass," he added.

"Old oil-guzzling Cybertronian hobo!"

"Oh no, little Scream's little words, oooooh," he waved his hands beside his head, adopting an expression of mocked fear. "You're just embarrassed of your old mech because he doesn't live in Iacon. For a very, how shall I say, 'urbane' individual, you're still are a Transformer that was born in the slums, and no amount of posturing can change that. And _still_ a typical femme con in every way…"

Starscream raised her head and turned a tense glare at her creator. "Oh no you don't-!"

"High, _maintenance_," Triburst finished with a firm nod.

"**_ROBO-PIG!!!!_**"

"Bark, bark."

"That's not the call of a pig, you pariah!"

-------

"'Can't find her!"

"'Course we can! She's red, blue and silver, has a cute bee-hind, and-"

Blaster looked blankly at Jazz counting the number of ways they could identify the now missing seeker from their optics, the saboteur happily drifting off in his own notions.

"…Is it me, Jazz man, or do you have a thing for her cha-cha?"

"An'-what_-WHAT-**WHOA**_**-WHOA**-whooooooa!" the Porsche frantically shook his hands and head in disbelief at the cassette deck and his unbridled deduction.

"Look, I can tell when a bot's got bit by the big L, and you got it all over like a hickie outbreak!"

"Hey man-" Jazz paused, checking his words. "You gotta admit, baby got back."

"…Yeah okay, ya' got me too."

-------

"…Said all you wanted to say, little Star?"

Starscream huffed and sighed in vocal exhaustion, too tired to convince the old relic of his galactic faults. Unceremoniously dropping her bottom on the bunk bed behind her, the aerial commander wrapped her hands around her head, unsure of what to do or say next to her creator. Yes, she wanted to tear him into ribbons on sight, this seeker, incurable of age and archaic philosophies, never forgetting his sentiments for her.

She just wanted to break her silence, demand for his Cybertronian gadget, and leave without saying goodbye. Maybe she'd give a recited comment, stating that his patriotic efforts were not in vain, and his usefulness might earn him a fitting position in the Decepticon hierarchy. But that's not what he wants, not what Triburst wants.

Triburst wanted his daughter to grow up as witty and as intelligent, like her mother, tutoring Starscream the same way he did with his late partner. The older seeker even went to the extreme of making a male body shell for her as a disguise, after much persistent coaxing by the future Decepticon second-in-command. And she kept her academic promise by excelling magnificently, with flying colours _and _a scholarship to the best prodigious school Cybertron has to offer.

What he didn't want though, was his only creation to become overly ambitious, but that was a wish that was hard to make true. Because the young are always curious and questioning, exploring the possibilities that they perceived as endless. Starscream was no exception, and her ambitious streak was a definite trait that she was _his_ creation. So Triburst motivated Starscream to fulfill his idea of _her_ happiness.

What was to happen in the near future made Triburst's spark tick with aggravation, even till today. By Primus, how could this total stranger not be blameless for the events to come?

…The red seeker lost her colleague, her mentor, her friend.

And to _what?_ Some primitive, cruel, _fickle_ nature belonging to some distant, **nameless **planet?!

Starscream circled half the globe to search for him, on low fuel.

No results.

No options.

So she returned safely back to Cybertron, beaten, exhausted…

…heartbroken.

Impulsively flying straight to Triburst's home, wearing her true form in body and mind, the younger Starscream poured her emotions out with words and tears on arrival. She said was going to retire from science and exploration after this assignment, and pursue her friend as a female Transformer. She admitted she felt feelings for him she never knew of, and there was nothing she could do now. The old seeker felt his optics sink when he saw his precious creation fail at keeping her usual poise in false bravado, and his whole system almost crashed on the weight of the next revelation she had in mind.

Starscream wanted to join the army.

Triburst wished she would cry on her pillow like all delicate femme cons, or noisily scold the air in frustration. He wished she would compose herself after a good emotional purge and return to him for reassurance of a good future. After his pride and joy got over her puppy love (for some Transformer he never even knew of), she might ask her creator to find a suitable mate for her, and he would. One that was conservative, responsible, and confident, who would treasure Triburst's pride and joy for the rest of their immortal lives. They would be coupled, and she would be happy that her creator had made the _best_ decision in her life. Triburst did not wish Starscream would be proud of him, but for that extra bonus he would mentally preen himself.

He wanted her to be happy…in HIS way.

What Triburst was absolutely sure HE didn't want, was his daughter to risk her life flying amok through enemy lines, or come in close contact with lecherous grunts. And to not forget, the punishment for femmes getting involved in the army was unreserved and severe. All these vorns of shaping her to become his perfect creation, dashed to nothing in the flicker of an optic. What came next was an exchange of words about her impetuous behaviour, her naïve beliefs, and the clueless slate which was her cerebral board. Starscream, at her wits end, quickly disowned him before he could say the same to her.

The last he saw was her wings sunk low. Yes, he knew he was being selfish. If only she understood _why_ he wanted her to lead the life he planned for her. Creators know best, and he didn't want to have to identify another body, another empty husk of a female close to his spark again.

The old Decepticon only asked for Starscream to be herself again. Her continuous string of questions for him, that were rewarded with more questions. The small clicking of blue and white feet, an incessant raspy vocal asking to be spoilt by materialistic demands, a small pair of fingers tugging at his tail fins. The soft breaths and sighs, lying peacefully on the pillow he made for her until she fell into recharge…

"What are **slag** are _you_ looking at?"

The old seeker's optics blinked his thoughts away, to find Starscream standing over him, before turning her attention to rummage through the cupboards. Finding the desired object, the aerial commander roughly tossed her pillow on the bunk bed, scaring the dust away from her old possession. She sneezed and coughed when it tickled her facial receptors, and the femme con fluffed the old bag thoroughly to plant her head into its familiar shape.

"Its too late and I'm too tired, so I'm staying here. When I get out of recharge, I'll take what's mine, so cut the chit-chat." Starscream pulled at her dark cloak, sliding it to silhouette her supine body.

"It's cold, you know," the red seeker nuzzled her head into her pillow. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Triburst watched the red glow from her face disappear, her optics narrowing down, softly flickering offline. The old Decepticon shrugged to himself and took a casual position to sleep on the med bed, taking note of Starscream's cloak slowly rising and falling with her chassis. Drifting off into recharged had slowly smoothened the crease between her optics, and Starscream quickly fell into a soundless recharge.

"Ah…the old fool has learnt so many things…" he spoke to his sleeping daughter.

"…Never wish for what you want, 'cause you might get something better than what you asked for."

-------

A/N: Um, Big L's actually a late rapper's moniker, but y' know what I'm talking about ;) Aaaaah…


	23. Chapter 22: Stray Desires

**Chapter 22: Stray Desires**

A/N: A drifting, thought-powered chapter, jes' wonderin' by y'know… ;) Yeah, delay the story with three chapters, even my brains going nuts XP I know its dumb when counts one chapter ahead of the original number, but meh XD Update: Yeah, decided to push this chapter back, seems to fit better here.

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A lone pair of dark optics followed Starscream movements, captured by the diligent red cassette on assignment in Cybertron. Megatron purposely ordered that Laserbeak did not filter its recordings of the aerial commander, wanting to watch every single astrosecond that took place. Unfortunately, the Cassetticons presence did not go unnoticed, and the condor took a few nicks and dents from two meddling Autobots, before the one in white transformed and hurriedly drove away with his companion. A small growl escaped Megatron's vocal chords, having recognised one of them as Starscream's pet, the Decepticon traitor who kept a tight lip on Autobot strategies. What was to grate away the tyrant's patience further was Starscream's 'magical disappearing trick'.

Around the early hours of Cybertron, Starscream and her wing mates (accompanied by two nauseating coloured femme cons), returned to her personal dwellings, having had more than enough of high grade energon. The red seeker was noticeably sober compared to the rest of the group, swaying their bodies in unison, singing songs in a bad pitch and tripping over each others legs, making an winding trail back to Starscream's apartment building. Starscream immediately made a beeline to the wide doors.

They enter the building. Laserbeak's camera misses nothing, including Starscream's optics glaring upwards. She does not look directly at the Cassetticon, but she knows it is there, and presumably sneers at nothing. She enters the building, and the doors slam shut.

Suddenly, two days zip by in astroseconds, with countless Transformers furiously entering and exiting the same door, comically rushing in and out making squeaky gibberish. Megatron taps a black finger off the fast-forward button and the two days on Cybertron immediately stops racing itself. Night comes again, or what is perceived as night on Cybertron (the darkest breems), draw the residents back into the safe haven of their abode.

Then Starscream arrives. Looks up, scoffs at nothing, and enters the building. The doors slam shut.

For her to return to the building, Starscream must first exit it. Laserbeak adamantly refused to leave its post, waiting for the red seeker to exit the building through that entrance. It's sibling Buzzsaw even flew about the premises, looking for any alternate routes the aerial commander could slither out of. Nothing. Megatron grumbled further at Starscream's secrecy to her creators equally mysterious whereabouts, and her actions proved her point. The grey Transformer's memory banks scrolled back to remember Starscream's exact words, in reply to his question of her creator's home.

"I won't tell you."

A simple threat could remedy her reticent attitude, but the look in her optics told him she wouldn't squeal even if he slagged her to death _twice_. Then he'd really have no idea of her creator's whereabouts, which made his mind wonder a great deal.

Her optics. They glow…differently.

What was to follow next was his imagination taking a rare journey to something so menial, which it is; because he _is _Megatron, leader of a gargantuan Decepticons military force, and had better things to ponder about.

But why not.

Her optics…they shone differently. The blood coloured glass barely withheld the strength of her character, gleaming proudly as soon as they came online. When he and only he alone, caught her being modest, they would almost flicker, dimming ever so slightly. But her head would remain rigidly in place and not dip her chin into her neck. It has been countless vorns since they have first met, and Megatron could still find something new and changing in his aerial commander, with or without the effects of time.

He paused the video and chuckled at her pose.

Something he did like about her when she revealed her true gender, was the way she walked.

_It_ never changed. Not drastically anyway.

It was not dainty and fragile like other femmes, afraid to step on the ground in fear of it growing teeth and swallowing them whole; no, the vorns of military training and adapting to male behaviour made her steps firm and pert to march hither thither, copping her daily sarcasm around. Her temper or need of haste would bring out the best of her gait, forcing her slender legs to plough and stomp the earth mercilessly, beyond a tomboyish manner. But all her femininity was not lost or dead in the war. When she was relaxed, her hips would teasingly sway in a slight motion to her legs. And when he looked at her that way, she would turn, smile, grin, frown and scowl at him, all in the matter of seconds. He thought, if she didn't pull and play with her face so much, she might have looked more attractive, or more decent, but he only found _that_ look when she fell into recharge. That one look of absolute tranquility (or boredom, in other words).

To counter the ennui, he would spend hours drinking in the sight of her pleasantly calm and serene countenance, and prod the sensitive areas of her chassis, just to get a reaction. She might blink in her dreams and nuzzle his shoulder, tucking into herself. Other times, a small red slit would emerge from her face and scowl at the perpetrator, before turning it offline again.

On one of the occasions that they connected, Starscream accidentally revealed the more susceptibly 'vulnerable' parts of her body, prompting Megatron to waste no time by digging his harsh fingers into said parts. Nothing brought him more mirth than a helpless Transformer wriggling under his vice-like grip in pain, especially one that was perpetually undisturbed a few breems ago in recharge. Starscream would gasp and suppress a yelp, succumbing to a dolorous fit in silence, fidgeting and twitching uncomfortably underneath his weight. Next thing he wanted to hear was her voice; that unmistakable breaking pitch in either screech, wail, squall or shriek, like a crow announcing the birth of a corpse from the living. To agitate him into breaking a few more delicate circuitry, she would grit her teeth or bite into him, scrunching up her face to say nothing.

He liked the way she choked on her own vocals when he broke her. Sometimes she would plead in a cracked whisper, or howl and beg for lenience, but until he gains satisfaction, the tyrant would continue to make her suffer for his amusement. Its not like he hasn't seen Starscream beg and plead before, but he loved it even more so under these circumstances.

And he missed her. _Dearly._

She better come back soon.

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A/N: Megatron's a leg fan, lol XD What a weird psycho…doesn't say a lot about me, noooooo :P ;;;;


	24. Chapter 23: Our Song

**Chapter 23: Our Song**

A/N: Creative Writerbot, transform! Chh-chh-koo-koo-koo! Oh no, its your arch nemesis, Mundane Procrasticon! Also, there's bad internet connection on my side. Great, Procrasticon's got connections…mine. :P

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Triburst clenched his hesitant fists, before palming them open with his arms, shot and outstretched. His creation wasted no time reacting with a grimace.

"……No."

She knotted her blue arms with her face in protest. Triburst's dimpled smile drew itself wider, exceedingly proud of his insignificant actions.

"Little Star, the device that I built is important to you _and_ lord Megatron, is it not? What would the Decepticon empire say if you didn't retrieve it, pray tell?"

"You agreed that you would give it without _question!_" she spat in bitter retort, tightening her arms.

"Aaaaah, that I did…to Megatron. But I did make a small request," the older transformer flexed his maroon digits facing the red seeker. "That's why you're here, dear child"

"…Come on, I'm not asking for much."

Starscream was not entirely convinced.

"No one will know about this," he pleaded with gusto. "Daddy's promise!"

Triburst's smile beamed when she dropped her shoulders in defeat; the aerial commander had to muster all her willpower to drag her heavy blue feet, carrying herself into her creator's waiting arms. Lovingly encircling the female Decepticon in his maroon coloured hands, the olive seeker leaned into the almost limp female and embraced her in a most tender hug. Starscream neck gave way to the weight of her head and slumped pathetically as he joyfully swung her from side to side, stopping to ask the emotionally absent seeker a question.

"Now……who's my little Star?"

Starscream muffled something into his armpit.

"I can't hear youuuu-"

"(**I** am.)" She mumbled louder.

"And who loves you?"

The old mech waited patiently to hear the second reply.

"(…Triburst does)."

"Who loves Triburst?"

"…………"

Triburst had to shake a reply out of the red seeker and achieved the desired results, voiced in a raspy low hiss.

"………_Little_ Star loves her daddy. **Very** much."

"How about a hug back, hmm? I raised you for a few thousand vorns, and this is the thanks I get? See, you open your arms like this…"

Starscream wanted to die right now, but her spark refused to obey her mental command, so she had to comply with her creator's wishes. Blue arms lamely dithered at Triburst's sides before the red seeker made a second attempt at tying herself around her father. Her blue fingertips barely touched each other when Triburst playfully hoisted Starscream off the ground, bringing her on his optic level, cheek-to-cheek.

"Ah, my little darling Star, I miss that song we always use to sing. How about it?"

…Now Starscream wanted to throw him into the smelting pools. But Megatron would probably do the same to her.

'_Hmm…chuck Triburst into smelting pools and have Megatron force me to hop in after him, or…sing an off-tune song._'

'…_Goodbye, cruel, cruel Cybertron._'

"Ohhhhhhhh." She ululated dully.

"_Little Star, little Star, how have you been?_

_I see you up in the sky._

_You look small 'cause we are far apart,_

_But the truth is in your heart._

_I fly to you, and you get larger,_

'_Cause I see Little Star glowing._

_Glow Little Star, growing Little Star,_

_And now there are two_."

Starscream's mediocre chorale was rewarded with Triburst generously petting his daughter's head, stroking the black metal with every motion. The red seeker waited for him to stop, and he did when he embraced her tighter, squeezing the circuits out of her chassis. She never understood the meaning of Triburst's original 'one-hit wonder', if it made any sense in the first place.

"Okay, I did what you wanted, old fogey. Now, how am I going to get my 'present' back to Earth?" Starscream's underlying tone told the green Transformer of her dilemma. "I can't just simply walk away with a basket of goodies when there are a lot of hungry wolves lurking about."

"Good point, Little Black Riding Hood." Triburst ignored the kick to his side. "…Well, what if you carried a biiiiig truckload of goodies?"

"I was thinking the same thing too," she agreed. "This can only mean one thing, and I **know** you're going to love it."

"Oh? What do you have in mind?" Triburst queried.

The aerial commander plucked her cheek away from his own and squinted at Triburst, giving her signature grin of cunning and deceit.

"…Shopping."

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They say it takes a certain type of Transformer to become a Decepticon, but many who have sworn allegiance to Megatron's growing army would shake their heads and disagree. For every optic counted amongst the Decepticons, a soldier would never feel lonely to think that there was no one similar to himself in design, and possess a polar personality at the same time. Simply put, it takes all kinds of characters to populate the Decepticon army, as long as they pledge their unadulterated allegiance to its leader.

_Take _this_ Decepticon as an example._

_Yes, that one walking rather stupidly to the corner shop. A simpleton may label him as another neutral drunkard, who found himself on the wrong side of one too many 'uncomplicated' bar fights, but an experienced soldier would tell you otherwise. That this Transformer, his body sorely in need of a good repaint, was in fact, **a** Decepticon drunkard who was ambushed in an exchange of fists in a social bar. And after another glorified night of fisticuffs, he nurses his over energized head by walking to get some refreshments at a small shop, because flying was too 'loud'…even the glare of the moons were too loud. _

_See? Any Transformer can be a Decepticon. Autobots were too picky with their recruits. They had to have that idealistic mindset, that easy gullibility of accepting their new-age 'philosophies'. But the Decepticons don't lie. They don't pepper their words with feel-good idioms. They don't oppose the natural instincts of any given Transformer. And they certainly don't find much problem with this half-drunk Decepticon captivated by a data pad clearly labeled '_MATURE CONTENT_' (it's the latest issue of 'Hot² Femmes', guys!)._

_A miscellaneous connector hastily snakes out of his arm and connects to the data pad, turning the screen online with a friendly blip. _

_Said Decepticon groans and drools lecherously at the data pad, scaring one of Transformers littered in the small corner shop. _

_Yeap, this Decepticon's lucky every month, 'cause the femmes just can't resist him. So, to purge their uninhibited desires, a lucky femme gets to bear her raw wiring to this suave Transformer (hence the purpose of this classy data pad ever existing); details listed include her REAL name (no lie), contact number, and favourite hobbies (you're one of them, be happy). _

_Primus, you can see all her circuits from here to Iacon! Betcha' she's a tin-plated racist, don't like us small types. Hey, jes' sayin'…don't knock it if you haven't tried it, lady._

_No one complains when the dark painted Decepticon increases the picture's resolution to twice its size, but a neutral femme at the counter squeaks at his boldness. The Decepticon holding the adult data pad rears his ugly head to bring the femme to his attention. _

_Here comes the love machine. Oh, con._

_He thinks his debonair one-lines are going to make her drop her shopping and dedicate her spark to _his_ wondrous being. He couldn't be more wrong. They were so terrible, so shallow and mind-numbingly atrocious, that every word rolling out of his vocal processors grated away at his pitiable dignity. Hel-**lo**! The female said she's tied to a mate of her own, who's unforeseen shadow looms over our intelligent Decepticon warrior. Another cliché spirals out of his energon hole. _

"Maybe he'd like ta' watch an' learn a few pointers from me?"

_Oh sweet Primus, shoot me now. No, wait, wait, wait, shoot **him**. _

_To save the Decepticon from, well, _himself_, the female's mate literally grabs his attention with a great blue fist over his small black head, and turns the warrior's optics away from the femme to a more unappealing feature: his angry mug._

"Do you know who I am, neuty?!"

"No, ah don't, an' ah don't care. So git' yer keister outta my mate's way, er' else."

"'Er' else' what, fugly! You think I'm afraid of you, you overgrown garbage can! Megatron's my _LEADER-!_"

**THUMP**

_Ooooh, that's gotta hurt._

_How do you 'thump' someone in the head when its literally engulfed in one hand? Would that mean he inadvertently punched himself first?_

_Who cares. Hey, check it! That dumb con flew outta the window so hard, 'looked like he went Mach ga**zillion** without activating his thrusters!_

Soundwave knew there was no point in watching Skywarp, but the Decepticon seeker proved to be too amusing to pry the tape deck's optics away from his daily routine. He could afford a small measure of entertainment now and then with his cassettes, who were rolling in fits of laughter on the ground. Rumble and Frenzy were too sowed in stitches to function vertically, and Soundwave could feel Ravage's body vibrating irregularly, a rare but unmistakable sign of the panther enjoying the joke in the tape deck's chest. The camera viewpoint ducked to the ground and the scene quickly swirled to the Cybertronian sky, because Buzzsaw was stunned into paralysis at Skywarp's antics.

-------

"There's the senorita (finally). 'Where'd she come from and where's she goin'?"

Jazz eye's furrowed when he laid eyes on the older seeker following her. "…Who's that con?"

"Dunno," the Autobot communications officer shrugged. "Maybe her sugar daddy?"

Jazz wanted to winch at the very notion, but quickly checked himself and lightly shrugged his response, followed by a curious silence.

"Look, he's hugging her, but she ain't a happy bug. Hey Jazzman, think Superfly's her big mac?" Blaster's optics trailed the seekers into a small appliance store. "They're spending _way_ too much time accessorisin'."

Blaster snapped his jaw shut when Jazz whipped a flat palm over his face. "That bag he's carrying!"

"'Nothin' wrong with it-waaaydaminit'!" Blaster quickly scanned the suspicious shopping bag. "Is it me, or is it gettin' heavier?"

The two Autobot's in hiding watched the larger seeker attack Starscream with another hug, but by then she was more than ready and kept him at arms length…

…And behind his large frame, the olive Transformer dropped a small piece of metal into one of the shopping bags he helpfully offered to carry for Starscream. Blaster and Jazz turned to each other as if the answers they were looking for were written on their companions faces.

"Sneaky woman…" Blaster whispered and Jazz nodded in agreement. '_So that's your game…Going shopping with the B.F.G over there, looking like you're buying presents for the boys back home. Every shop you go to, the green genius sneaks a small something inside that bag (what's its name…'Tinker Toys'. Hoo boy, there must be some big kids in the Deceptiarmy). Don't tell that ain't suspicious behaviour, angel_.'

"I'd say Starscream's got a present for ol' Megs on Earth which needs assembling," Blaster magnified his view and scrutinized the cluttered bag further. "And the goods inside doesn't look too child friendly to me."

"We gotta get it, man," Jazz tipped his head in deliberation. "And I've got just the plan to get the funky junk."

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"Aaaaaaaaaowwwwww…" the purple seeker groaned lazily at Thundercracker's stern hands working against his bent wings. His blue wingmate merely shook his head at his companion's overcharged state and made a small tching noise. Skywarp never failed to let Thundercracker forget that a seeker can get hurt in all kinds of places, and he just found a new one. Again.

"Why…how…when…" the blue jet ended up sighing questions to himself while mending Skywarp's dented body. "You said you were going to the shop…just…"

"I did…then-then this big-oooouh! Aaaagh……bleeeeeh-"

"I mean, it doesn't take a lot of-"

"Meeeeeeeh-wee**bleeee**erhrp-"

"You-"

"Gogo_maaaaagh-_"

"Why are you overcharged?"

"Feeerumphaholooopahphwhen was I not?"

"Warp…" Thundercracker whispered indifferently. "You, er…you still overcharged?"

"Uh-huh, hey, I got-…like, I got-"

"I know." Thundercracker's optics winked from the adult data pad to his friend's rear end, clearly embossed with a giant footprint. "…Con, I know its embarrassing to go to the medic, but…"

"…Cmoooooooon…"

"…I am NOT touching your aft."

"Why NOT?!"

"'Cause…cause-! …WHY _DO YOU DO THIS TO **ME?!!!!**_" the blue Transformer threw his arms out exasperated at the whole situation. "Did I step on your 'Cool-Stuff-Skywarp-Can't-Find-Twice' collection?!"

"Nu-uh. I just thought Starscream would be back soon-"

"But she's not!"

"Yeah, an-an' I wanted ta' teach her a lesson, for, for, like, leaving us here, an' not telling us where she's goin', and then, and then all I get, is like, you being all homosexual on my rear end, an-"

The purple Decepticon earned himself a medal of idiocy on the same day, in the shape of Thundercracker's fist.

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A/N: 01-01-2007 There seems to be an internet connection problem, so if I don't reply fast enough to your reviews, emails, or put new chapters, please forgive me. I would also like to thank everyone for their support and helpful criticisms, and wish you all a Happy New Year, 2007:DDDD


	25. Chapter 24: Do A Little Dance

**Chapter 24: Do A Little Dance…**

A/N: I'm on a roll, let's roll let's roll! Am I dragging the story? XP

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The red Autobot's heels clicked as soon as Starscream and Thundercracker had left the apartment building. Making sure they had not flown back to retrieve any forgotten items, the tape deck revealed himself and leapt out from a pile of refuse in a red and yellow blur, shaking off a stray pipe hooked onto his head appendages. The plan was quite straightforward; Blaster was to slip into the Decepticon jet's room and acquire the unidentified parts in a marked shopping bag. If the seekers outing was short, the saboteur was to distract them by any means possible until Blaster had taken possession of the items, and maybe compensate for its lack of weight with something else. After all, there were too many packages and all of them were tightly sealed, ready to be shipped to Earth.

Despite the questionable neighbourhood, the tenants of the building were given separate key cards to gain enter the complex, but that did not stop Blaster from gaining easy access when he smooth talked his way using a group of young neutrals. After an exchange of niceties with revalatory information about the latest hits, Blaster exited the elevator, counting the doors lined down the hallway. To occupy his time waiting, the tape deck accommodated his half hour by counting and recounting the windows of the apartment, predetermining the room Starscream occupied with her fellow wingmates. But there was a catch, and if Blaster was not on this mission, he would have been humoured by the little pickle he was in.

A black hand opened the door to reveal the a purple and black seeker, spread over the sofa in a deep recharge from his energon escapades.

In front of all the crinkly shopping bags.

If this was Primus' idea of a joke, Blaster was not laughing.

-------

As aerial commander of the Decepticon army, Starscream demanded for a V.I.P. room in one of Cybertron's most popular nightclubs. A swing of the cape, a proud rasp of authority, and she easily blagged her way in, followed by a blue jet who felt pairless without his purple comrade's obnoxious presence. The red seeker would have it no other way. The ambience was either too noisy, too bright or too suffocating, anywhere and everywhere, but she fell victim to her own social needs.

'_At least she's not obsessing about those shopping bags_,' Thundercracker pondered. Her meticulous behaviour over her 'gifts' was more than he could bear, but the sudden laxity of keeping an over energised seeker to guard her precious spoils from a victorious shopping spree? A little strange, even for her eccentricity.

'_As long as Starscream's happy, our audio processors are spared_,' he thought, and proceeded down the stairs to the overpopulated dance floor. His superior considered herself more of an observer and cradled her energon drink in her hand, teasing the pink liquid in its cup. Tonight was all about her, and indulging herself. Forget the formalities, what has been done can worry about itself.

"Waiter, another drink."

-------

'_Primus slaggit, he spoke again!_' Blaster jolted in his frog position and slapped his mouth shut with his hands. The red and yellow Autobot had only crept a few inches forward when the seeker, perturbed in his dreams **by** his dream, swung a rebellious hand out of the boundaries of his sofa and almost clouted Blaster upside the head. Slamming his body to the floor to avoid the hit, Blaster accidentally hit the 'Play' button located on his chest and the vociferous melody of anarchy started blaring gregariously from his legs, wailing of freedom, peace and all that jazz.

'**_OH PRIMUS OH PRIMUSNONONONO!!!!!_**' Blaster fists rushed to his chest and quite literally punch himself to silence.

This was by far, _the_ worst tape deck has ever done. _Ever_.

Maybe it was Skywarp's fault, who was hiding a some obscure ability; with his infinite aura of inanity, the seeker could somehow affect and disable the Transformers of their common sense…Blaster didn't know. What the Autobot did know as soon as his arms pushed himself off the ground, was Skywarp's head careening onto his own, stopping with a slight rap to his helmet. Having bizarre coincidences constantly stalking the seeker, Skywarp managed to hook his mouth onto Blaster's head gear in the process. Precariously dangling over the domed head and the sofa, the Decepticon warrior ran the risk of falling into the space between them, if…

…Skywarp found the tape deck's collar a convenient spot to hang his whole arm.

Blaster didn't want to turn his head. Then again, he had to, or else he wouldn't know what the blasted seeker got themselves into. A warm sensation slithered down the Autobot's helmet, and he carefully lifted a finger to touch the foreign liquid.

Astroseconds fly by. Skywarp's drool reaches the floor.

…'_This not real, 'this not real, I'm in the Twilight Zone, it's a reality show, someone's playing a sick prank on me and they're filming it, I know it man, I know it. " _'S easy" _he_ _said_. "Piece 'a upside down cake n' all,"_ he said_. _Double Z, if you're fightin' off a whole army of Mega-goons right now, I hate you, I slaggin' hate you…_

_I wanna trade places._

"Ph-phiew-phiew-fihweeeeeeuuuuwwwwuh…" Skywarp muttered.

"…Kah-bloooohm! Bh-kow! …Uh-huh-huh…"

The _WORST._

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Starscream giddily swiped her mouth with her whole arm, satisfied at her latest achievements. Chucking the emptied cup onto the table, the aerial commander grumbled to herself when it bounced off the other cups inhabiting the table and settled for the floor. Wanting to be vigilant about the number of drinks she consumed in fear of reaching Skywarp's quandary, Starscream stated to the waiter that the empty containers were to adamantly remain on the table. A few breems later, the same table grew a twin from the red jet's vision, dancing in-between her confused optics, and she lost count of the empty cups she drank from. This irritated her even more.

…She needed another drink. Thundercracker was not a drink, but the blue seeker approached her anyway.

"Starscream…what-" he side glanced the numerous cups. "…Er, you okay?"

The red seeker groggily looked up at her wing mate with a fixated grin, contentedly half-purring and chuckling at her own joke. Her blue hands ran in small circles on the lounge chair, convincing the aerial commander of her current body position, the surface she was resting on, and the correct directional pull of gravity.

"Of course I'm okay!" she chided at Thundercracker. "Self-medication's the best."

She whipped her head from the blue Decepticon standing dumbly in front of her to change her view. Musing to herself behind tinted windows, Starscream's hazy optics found sight of the other Transformers downstairs, grinding against each other in motion to the pulsations of the vibrant music. A broad arm nudged her own, but she continued to ignore Thundercracker, listening to the beat relentlessly banging from the outside. Only a ghost of the noise outside echoes into the private room, occupied by the two seekers, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in the placid lighting.

"…Self medication. Huh…(what for)."

-------

'…_All for…this!!!_'

Blaster carefully hoisted the dull metal box out of the bag by the tips of his restless fingers. Scanning the contents once more, the tape deck mentally congratulated himself, taking note that the olive Transformer had most likely smuggled a few more items into the bag, leaving Starscream to pack it into an inconspicuous box and not lose any complicated pieces. This was all he needed. The vexing complexity of the mission disappeared once Blaster tucked the smallish box into his chest cavity. It fits perfectly.

"Heya."

Suddenly, all time stopped, commandeered by the voice of a lone seeker. Blaster could hear a few digits lazily scratching a newly repaired aft, the least of his concerns. Maybe Skywarp would not notice him if he stood rigidly still, and go back to recharge.

"Heya-(wuh)…"

_And he's still overcharged?!_

"Hey," A clumsy black finger tapped Blaster's shoulder. "Hey-"

_Tap._

"**Hey.**"

_TAP._

"Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Heya. Hey. Hey. _Heeeeeey_………**HEY**."

If Skywarp continued prodding his back, Blaster knew that there would be a finger-shaped hole in due time.

_Call his bluff_.

"…There's no one here."

"…………………………………Really?"

"…Yeah. Jes' a wall, nothing else."

"No way-no-_nooooo_. I see you, I see you. You're red and yellow and white and yellow. And red. Auto**boooooooooooooooot.**"

Blaster didn't want to be terminated facing a wall.

_Ssh ssh…he can't see you, you can't see him-_

"Hey, wanna play a drinking game? Y'know. One remph, two remph, poh-poh-poh. Everyone knows that game. Even kids can play it."

The tape deck felt a fist nudge him in a coaxing manner, almost begging. Blaster slowly rotated himself to face the mentally challenged seeker, who was patiently holding his fists out at shoulder length and looking bored.

Blaster raised his own hands in quiet apprehension.

"…Okay."

"…Cool. One remph."

"Two remph."

"Poh-poh-POH!"

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A/N: Will Blaster ever escape the Cybertronian drinking game of Death? Is Starscream as drunk as she seems? And will Thundercracker get his poon? Find out in the next chapter of-…….bleeeeeeeeeeeh XD I think they've stayed on Cybertron for too long 8.


	26. Chapter 25: Make A Little Love

**Chapter 25: Make A Little Love…**

A/N: I uh, I found out that I got 10,000 hits, and it's a lot of hits for someone like me, so...:') Thank you for your support everyone, even if you were randomly clicking and accidentally read my fic X'DDDD

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It had been _hours_. But as difficult and awkward the situation was when it presented itself, Blaster had finally eased into its charming playful mood. He was winning the game.

'_I can walk out of this door, complete my mission, _and_ enjoy the free drinks_, _con-courtesy of Skywarp!_' he chuckled. '_Maybe I should radio Jazz, tell him I've dunnit'._

'…_.Naaaaah.'_

The tape deck didn't jump at the purple seeker letting rip another unrestrained guffaw, having gotten used to his uninhibited behaviour a few breems ago. Sitting cross-legged on the floor surrounded by hapless energon cubes, Blaster was slowly encouraging the Decepticon warrior to drink his fill, who was using the empty energon cubes as a make-shift floor chair. The red and yellow Transformer chuckled under his breath taking note, if Skywarp were to adopt the same sitting position he had done, the jet might not be able to unknot his legs at the rapid rate of energon consumption. Said seeker drums his spread eagled limbs on the floor in sheer excitement when he loses again.

"Da-yum, you're GOOD!" Skywarp inhales another energon cube, "an' ta' think I was so _gooder_ at _this_ game!"

'_Uuuuuuh-huh_.'

"Hey hey hey, Blasta' (izzat it?) Con, you should play this game with like, 'Screamer, or, or, TC!"

"Are they any good?" Blaster queried.

"NO! BWAHHAHAHAHA!!!!" Skywarp started hyperventilating to recollect his vocal processors. "But seriously, maybe 'Screamer might beatcha'. For a young spark, she's smart an' all."

"Now whazzat you say?" the Autobot straightened up in surprise mixed with curiosity.

"About 'Screamer? Ah, she's like the youngest of us all. TC's like our big bro (I'm the cool middle one!) And Screamer? Well, she just appeared in the academy one vorn. Yeah, we never really noticed her until she started risin' up the ranks real' quick, 'cause the Deceptibabe's got that talent y' know…(_that_ talent)." Skywarp's fingers thrust themselves from his fists in emphasis.

"An' soon enough, we were working on missions with her-no wait, more like, _under_ her (eh-heh heh). She was all frosty and stuff as usual, but I don't blame her, 'cause she was like, kinda young, and everyone (even me, guilty as charged) thought, 'she's got nothin', she's just littleler' and stuff. But she _had_ to be mean so we'd listen, 'cause it's like, 'how'd she get all the way up here if no one's gonna pay attention to her?' Right, right? An' when we followed her orders, we found out our missions got done faster and better. As a team, she brought us to the top…the TOP! 'Course, not without TC and me; next to 'Screamer and TC, I'm the coolest bad aft con around!"

The tape deck shrugged his shoulders in mild amusement. "Okay, so, if y'**all** cool, then why is she still…you know…'mean'?"

Skywarp offered a blank stare at the Autobot before his thoughts came to a conclusion.

"…Truth is, she's not _that_ bad. Most of us were kinda cold ta' her before. I mean, she wasn't the nicest con, but we weren't exactly (what is it, that word, ah…) accenting- "

"Accepting?"

"Yeah, we weren't accenting, but, honestly…" Skywarp emotions took surface with his reminiscing. "…she looked…kinda lonely."

"…Even when we were a new team, she already had that thing going on with her. Even after we warmed **up** to her, she kept her distance, like she was far, far away or somethin'. When she finished handing the major payback to those cons who bullied her, we thought she'll be okay, but, I mean…we found out she was kinda like that already when she joined the academy. TC and I are her wing mates. We're her buddies, con, her buddies…and she gives us the same slag as everyone else. BUT! Her friends are like-(okay, don't tell her this, 'cause she'll slag me for making her look like a basket of petro rabbits), but her friends are Transformers she…you know…'thinks' about. And when we became her (friends), she'd look out for us, even if she's like some ice queen. 'Cause if we weren't, she wouldn't blink twice if we were in deep slag."

"…Wow," was all the tape deck could say. Other than Skywarp's dexterous tongue, there was more to Starscream than he ever knew.

"Maybe that's why she's going out with Megatron and that Autoboob-"

"Say _WHAT?!_"

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The breeze blowing down the alley outside the club was deemed more refreshing than the polluted air within. The female con whipped her head to the dark sky, stretching her lithe body to pop the gears cramped in her body. Gazing at her fingers interlinked with each other, Starscream's feet slowly left the ground, and the red seeker quietly levitated in her own space before she brought herself back down.

"Hey, pretty lady…"

Starscream deftly whirled herself around to meet the stranger on the other side of the alley, his shadow growing to touch her feet. The latter listened to the red jet's null rays croon in anticipation of his next move, and he narrowed his ruby optics to a smooth gleam. She adjusted her optics to scrutinise the stranger hiding in his own shadow. The purple insignia blazoned across his chest was the only guarantee that he was not the enemy in war, but…

"…Didn't your creator ever tell you not to walk down dark alleys all by yourself?" a deep voice rolled in cue.

'_Oh, GREAT_.' Starscream rolled her head in sarcasm. Tall, dark (in the shadows), black paintjob sporting some white on his limbs, tires…a definite ground vehicle. But the body frame was almost familiar, if he adapted to an Earth mode…

"No." Starscream answered his question anyway, racing through her memory banks. "Why?"

"…'Cause my momma told me you might meet a beautiful, sexy stranger, and now I'm love's fool."

'_Oh for Primus sake-!_' her jaw almost dislocated from the atrocious lines dribbling into her audio receptors.

The raven coloured stranger darted towards Starscream without warning and snatched her feet off Cybertron itself, engulfing the seeker's lips in an amorous kiss. Returning the gesture fervidly, blue fingers holding the dark head in a clawed grip, the duo lost each other in the very moment, forgetting the war, the fighting, or anything that would get in the minute space in-between their bodies. The breems seem to hurry by when it least needed to, and their pleasure ended just as abruptly as it began when the aerial commander conveniently found the wall to slam her adversary's back onto it.

"…That was _the_ WORST I've ever heard." Starscream yelped when he flipped her over and planted her wings to the wall.

"Then you haven't heard enough."

"I know."

"Anything for you, baby."

"What happened to angel-"

"Ssh…" A long black finger rested on her lips. " The good bot's 'out' and the bad con's in…just ta' see you on Cybertron."

"Aaaah…" The red seeker's words trailed off to admire his body work. From the looks of her roving eyes and her smooth fingertips gliding his polished chassis, Jazz deduced that she was not disappointed, although he did feel unusually tense because…she looked almost hungry. "Not bad for a wingless Decepticon…can you stay this way for me, 'baby'?"

"Hmmm…" Jazz looked thoughtful. "…No."

"(Oh phooey)," Starscream looked away with dimmed optics, disappointment mocked by her pouted lip. "So…does my _mysterious_ stranger have an equally mysterious name?"

"He sure does…"

"Tell. Me."

"Blues is his name, and charming his baby's the game."

She looked Jazz from ears to feet, and tried to comprehend what similarities his name had with his paint job.

"…I know. My creator's were Decepticons. Who can blame them?"

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"Oooookay, Warp, buddy, '_really_ hafta go, hate to break the game, but I've had a great time and if you're ever drunk and out of your mind-(loopy Lou), just call me at Rock City, that's R-o-c, k, ity, great, yeah, cool, yeah, ciao-!"

Blaster leaned into Skywarp's face. His optics were gleaming. His face solemn.

…His snoring, soft but audible.

"Great Primus…" the boom box scratched his bright head, "I was talkin' to a sleeping con! And his optics are still online!"

Blaster wasted no time paging Jazz that his duties for the mission was complete, and darted out of the building. A few breems later, the door beeped open to let Starscream in, who exchanged glances between the bags and the over energised seeker. The purple jet woke up to a blue knuckle, rapping his head.

"Skywarp. Come in, stupid."

"Snrrzh…wuddizit Scremmerberrrzh?"

"Where's Thundercracker? When I went back into the club, he left a message saying he wanted to leave early and come home. So? Where is he? He should be back already."

"Ie dun know…(ye freegin nazicon…) You're both the same…always leavin' me alone…"

"…Oh, you poor, _poor_ thing," Starscream sarcasm went unnoticed by her semi-conscious wing mate.

-------

The boom box's message was all it took to break up the couple's little rendezvous, and separate themselves to go back to what they were doing. The saboteur did wonder what took Blaster so long, but judging by the tone of his voice, all was well. The only thing left for the black vehicle was to pick up his friend-

-And avoid the strafe shots running across the ground. The black Cybertronian vehicle quickly made a sharp left turn, drifting off course in a nick of time.

"Yo' con, what's the matter?!" Jazz flipped back into root mode, catching his gun midair. A blue jet soared in to land on his feet, a sour grim face emerging from his transformation.

"_Slagging_ _Autobot!!!_" Thundercracker cried.

"Oh, really?" Jazz tapped his current insignia. "Well, _I_ don't believe you, and it's not like I didn't see you there Thunder…that's what rear view mirrors are for. Now what can I do for you?"

"I _SAW_ you!"

"Saw me what?" the saboteur snapped a quick retort back at the Decepticon jet.

"_I SAW WHAT YOU DID TO HER!!!_" Thundercracker lanced an accusing finger at Jazz. "**_I SAW YOU TOUCHING HER!!!_**"

"With her. I saw what you did _with_ her." Jazz corrected the seeker. "…She is _fine _ladycon, isn't she-?"

Jazz dove in retreat behind a vacant building to avoid the blind shot from the blue jet. The saboteur poked his black head out to espy the seeker seething with unbridled fury, with arms and guns shaking in ire aimed squarely in his direction.

"So she's Megatron's gal. And mine. Not yours. What's the prob?" Jazz cheekily jumped in anticipation of another shot and ran to a more sturdy corner.

A pair of blue feet marched towards the saboteurs direction. "_She's…not…**yours!**_"

"…Yeah, you're right. She's her own person, don't belong to nobody. So, why didn't you sonic boom me, baby? Wanna talk this out civilly, con to con?"

"**Shut up, GROUND SLAG!!!**"

"Oh…" Jazz emerged from hiding, wearing a carefree grin, optics glowing a cool sanguine at the blue seeker.

"So…what is it you want? You don't wanna shoot me, but you don't wanna let me go either. So, what do you want? You wanna do the man dance?"

"The man_, what?!_" Thundercracker's face winced in confusion.

"You know…" Jazz feet started hopping on the spot, guarding his face with his fists. "Wanna slug it out, tough con, mano-e-mano?"

Jazz grinned wider behind his fists when Thundercracker mimicked his stance, to a more professional posture.

"Do a little dance, make a little love…"

"Get _down_ tonight."

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A/N: Aaaah! XD Yeah, TC has contempt for those who don't fly. It's true.


	27. Chapter 26: Get Down Tonight

**Chapter 26: Get Down Tonight!**

A/N: Hmm, going for a weekend trip, but I will reply to your reviews when I get back, 'kay? ;) Also, it'll give me some time to structure my ideas.

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Fact: Thundercracker, aerial Decepticon warrior, wing mate of Starscream and Skywarp. Able to fly at Mach two speeds, armed with dual shoulder mounted cannons, shooting heat resistant ceramic bullets containing flammable material, one hundred rounds per minute. Additional equipment include two drone missiles, delivering three thousand pounds of TNT upon impact. External weaponry put aside, the blue seeker possesses the ability to generate sound energy, creating devastating sonic booms over a two hundred mile radius. Strength and intelligence: above average. Not weak, not dumb, just more morally conscious compared to most of his fellow Decepticons.

Fact: Jazz, Autobot special operations, saboteur and Starscream's preference of Autobot fender. Uses a solar powered photon rifle with nine mile accuracy, no matter what stance he's taking, (preferably breakdancing; freezes with ammo mastered, flares and guns in training to ultimate perfection). Inbuilt speakers blares a light show and catchy sound show, leaving most opponents distracted, bewildered, and down from the boogie. Rifle aside, Jazz's solar powered windshields can also fuel his majestic leaps provided with his ailerons. Strength comparatively weaker than average, because he's a lover, not a fighter, and skill coupled by daring makes a bot incredibly stylish and irresistible to female Decepticon aerial commanders.

In other words, Jazz knew very well that brainlessly grinding knuckles against Thundercracker already decided the victor of the preemptive bout.

If Jazz were some other Autobot. Thundercracker didn't care. All he saw was some dirty slag who was being improper with Starscream.

And she was enjoying it.

'_She can be with everyone but me? WHY?!_' the Decepticon's disorientated thoughts scurried through his cerebral circuits. '_Is she afraid of '_hurting' _my feelings?!_'

"Hey hey hey, Deceptiboob, you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!" The blue seeker's mind snapped back to Jazz's unwanted remarks, sounding eerily familiar. The blue warrior stampeded his way to the Autobot in disguise, almost taking off from the ground if his anger did not weigh his very steps down. Jazz started to close the gap between the blue jet, feet sprinting lightly in contrast to Thundercracker's furious trampling. In a dark flash the saboteur leapt over Thundercracker like a cat, using the enraged seeker's head for support before transforming into his alt mode. Placing more weight on his rear wheels, Jazz immediately pulled the handbrake and kicked his accelerator, forcing the engine into a violent roar. The jet's back hunched into submission as he caught the Autobot tires skidding noisily on his shoulders, driving off after the smell from the sore burning sensation tickled their olfactory senses. Pulling his face upright, Thundercracker tightened into a jet and chased after the impudent Transformer.

"Like your new tattoo? It's called Goodyear!" Jazz drove as fast as he could from the blue seeker. "Catch my drift?"

A sharp corner forced Thundercracker to retreat upwards to avoid banging into a wall, while Jazz took the ninety degree turn with motor skill grace.

"Laugh all you want Autobot!" The blue seeker growled to the impudent saboteur driving in a zigzag pattern between the buildings. "I can see everything you do in the skies!"

"Good boy, you're learning!" Jazz hollered back. "You must be the smarter ones without commander Sexy Back!"

"Don't call her that-!" Jazz didn't wait for Thundercracker to finish his sentence when the vehicle disappeared into an abandoned building. '_It's a trap_,' he thought, hovering around the edifice. The windows and back door were locked shut with age, decaying into the small cracks, save for the front door. '_He knows I can't maneuver in that cramp building_.' Thundercracker glided back to the ground with his legs.

'If_ I was in jet mode. Now he's got nowhere to run._' The blue jet cocked his head to look at the obsolete sign, embedded with the rusty '84' into the warped metal. A shameful memory in the data pad of Autobot history. What was he trying to prove anyway? Thundercracker had no idea. Terminating another Decepticon in this area proved nothing but their basic savagery and overzealous fanatics littered in their ranks. The blue jet strolled warily into the greying structure …

And found Jazz in the dark. In front of him, flanking his sides…even on the ceiling. Thundercracker swung a heated fist to the one right behind him, as it warped with a crackle to the futile attack. A hologram. As they all were. He heard the building echoing with the black Transformer's jovial voice, giving the impression that he himself had transformed into the structure Thundercracker was currently boxed in.

"Come on in, what did you say? A clue! A clue! You see a clue! Another Blue's Clues day, hooray!" The Autobots surrounding him started thrusting their arms and legs idiotically to the tune. Their mouths were not moving in time to the chorus, some lagging while others were rapidly lip synching to the alien song which was flooding Thundercracker's audio receptors with aggravation. The blue jet scrutinized the holograms; the programming was old and probably existed vorns ago, neglected and made obsolete with technological advancement. So Jazz was familiar with this building, and Thundercracker became his first guinea pigatron. But the seeker ignored his childish tricks. He was going to slag the persistent Autobot to the Inferno and beyond.

"Do you wanna play Blue's Clues? And clap your hands (clap your hands)-"

Thundercracker's hatred for the Autobots was refueled once more, and the chant ended when a pair of blue hands slapped themselves together, forcing the building to sway to the sonic boom. The holograms shivered, and they all flicked out a pair of visors out from their sub compartments, clipping the blue accessory to their heads. Now, the seeker grinned, now, he looked more like himself. And resumed dancing.

"Clap your hands! Clap your hands and learn something new!" they flipped an spun wildly in their places, "Join our Blue's Clues band today!"

"_NEVER!!!_" A fist connected with the seeker's wing and the jet spun around, to receive another blow to the head.

"This building's not too strong. You think I'm gonna 'clap my hands' and have it fall on me, Autoscrap?!"

The holograms pinned their thumbs to their heads and started razzing at him. Instincts overtook logic and the seeker elbowed the hologram to his side, to hear a solid thump instead of the mirage spitting in protest. A direct hit! Thundercracker lunged with clawed digits at the hologram, and grabbed Jazz's waist, flinging him to one corner. A move he regretted later when the latter disappeared into the safety of the darkness.

"That's it Autobot, no more games!" Thundercracker charged to exit the circle. A dark hand grabbed the Decepticon by the scruff and threw him back in with a swift kick to the chest, cracking the glass of his cockpit. What followed was a rapid shower of fists on his supine body, leaving nicks and dents in the process. Regaining his senses, the blue Transformer took hold of Jazz's fists and snarled in fury at the saboteur sitting on him.

"Uh oh."

"Uh oh is right. **_RAAAAAAAHH!!!_**"

Jazz broke a hole in the wall and spun on the floor outside, trying to regain his equilibrium. Heavy feet belonging to the blue seeker marched outside the structure, making his way to the Autobot. First thing he was going to do, was break his optics with his visors. Thundercracker's auto repair system was already trying to patch up one of his own, hissing at the red glass cutting through the delicate wiring. Jazz was not aimlessly punching him, taking into account the more fragile areas of Transformer anatomy. He watched Jazz warily turn himself over and shake the dizziness out of his head.

'_You don't care about her. Not you, not Megatron…not even that pipsqueak Rumble. None of you do! You won't think about her like I would. None of you!_' Thundercracker raised his arm cannons to Jazz's head. The saboteur face was suddenly washed over with an unexpected calmness. Thundercracker spoke in a dangerously low tone.

"(_…You won't love her like **I** do…_)"

"Um…Thundercracker?" A small smile graced Jazz's countenance. "Look behind you!"

A pair of grey legs struck the seeker in the neck and shoulder, instantaneously throwing the hapless jet aside. Pulling a full grin, Jazz spun into his alt mode and waited for his passenger to do the same, feeling the boom box bounce into his seat as Jazz spun his wheels.

"Hey Blaster, did ya' miss me?" Jazz chirped over his radio, speeding away from the scene.

"Did I miss you? Man, if you're in trouble, you should have called me earlier!" Blaster chided at his friend. "We woulda dropkicked that con's keister sooner if ya did!"

"My bad, my bad-"

"(Think I knocked him out cold, he's getting' all blue even, heh-!) So Jazz man, got yourself a new girlfriend?"

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"Okay, say if you _weren't_ going out with a Deceptibabe, who just coincidentally _isn't_ Starscream-"

"How'd you know? Skyblubber told you?"

A rare pause captured the boom box's vocaliser. "No….just callin' your bluff."

"…Touché, music man, touché. So? Whaddya think?"

"Well…" Blaster quietly chose his words. "You got some funky taste in females, that I gotta say!"

"Not a word to no one, Blaster-"

"Way, way, wait, whaddya' think I am, _stupid?!_ **Now** ya' gotta do somethin' for me or I'll broadcast it to infinity and beyond, Meister!"

"Yeah, what?"

"…She been a bad girl?"

"Of course."

"Then you need ta' spank that fine bootay!"

"Done-diddly done."

"FOR **REAL_?! DYAAAAUUM!!!!!_**"

-------

A/N: Um…I don't apologise for dirtying your minds! XD Okay, as much stereotyping as there is, Blaster does sound kinda clichéd. Then again, everything in the 80's did. And for those who didn't know, if it weren't for Blaster, Jazz would have been the token 'black' TF :P Meister is Jazz's Japanese name, which means 'Master' in German.


	28. Chapter 27: Smile

**Chapter 27: Smile**

A/N: Sorry for being slow…have a few problems with reality to sort out here and there. I'll probably be revisiting this chapter to shoot down the typos :D

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"Where have you been-! Primus, what happened to you?!"

He tried to remember what happened. Before. Or after. Or after what happened before. Wait. That would be now. Now?

"Nothing…just go back to sleep."

"Go back to sleep-_go back to sleep?!!!_ I've been WAITING for you! It's already been five breems since-"

"What are you, my nannybot? Leave me 'lone."

Now is happening. He focused on the now. He tried to squint an optic open like a disobedient child lying in bed past his curfew. No, he had to widen his view, because Skywarp was too intoxicated to be discreet. Not like a small glowing red light caught the attention of his bickering wing mates standing in front of his feet. Thundercracker looked like he had been hit by a titanium moosebot. Starscream looked like a moosebot, until Skywarp corrected his focus. A moosebot with very attractive thrusters. No, its Starscream. And she's…screaming. Loudly. Primus, they were acting like a tied couple.

"'Leave you alone', you bloody slag! I know what you've been doing! Don't try to hide it from me Thundercracker!!!"

"Oh, I've nothing to hide, 'commander'! So you recognise the tire marks on my back?! I guess you know that stupid boyfriend of yours so well! And Megatron-!"

"(Um…cons…?)"

The female Decepticon immediately throws a malicious glare subduing her waking purple counterpart, who nonchalantly rolls over and adjusts his position on the couch, pretending to be ignorant. If the purple Decepticon did respond again, she would drive her foot into his abdomen for being naively intrusive to the situation. Stiff digits clamped hold of Starscream's wings and swivelled her back into the heated argument once more. The blue seeker looked desperate. A thin line of energon from his cracked optic traced the corner of his mouth, and sparks from his open joints leapt in protest of his mistreatment in the previous battle.

"Starscream-!" she tore her arms from his grip, but he exchanged them for her flailing wrists. "Starscream, _listen-!_"

"Let go of me! Let go!" the red seeker grew less patient with every word her blue counterpart had to say, thrashing in this hold like a spoilt youngster. "Let go I say!"

"Starscream, you gotta listen! They don't care about you! They're only using you for their own means! Don't-!"

" LET GO! **LET****GO_-AACKH!_**"

The hand of the blue Decepticon did as was told only to rashly graze her cheek with a small swipe. Drawing her closer, Thundercracker glared straight into her frantic optics. What remained of his functioning sight tried to catch her optics racing across his face.

"You know what they're after Starscream! YOU of all cons should know!" he spoke through gritted teeth. "They don't want you! **I** want you! _I_ _love you-!_"

"(How _dare_ you hit me like that…)" she whispered in a subdued but bitter hiss, bowing her head. "(Of all the Transformers to do that…)"

"(…You would be the last!)" the blue jet was already regretting, holding onto a pair of trembling wrists, connected to a taut body.

-------

Skywarp meekly scratched the back of his worn helmet, struggling to recall the incident that occurred between his wing mates, before he included himself. A pair of white and blue feet were miserably marching to the space bridge tower. Starscream wanted to get back and retreat from the blue atrocity of irrational thought, beside the imbecilic purple fool. Everything was ready to be sent to Earth. Everything was done.

-------

"Please, Starscream-! I'm sorry-! I-! …Please, you have to stop doing this! It's not good for you-" Thundercracker pleaded in a broken voice. Starscream unfriendly response was to direct her attentions elsewhere, angling her head away from him. She didn't want to hear what Thundercracker had to say. She didn't care. Not after what he did to seize her attention.

"(You stupid fool…what makes you think Megatron does not think of me at all? And Jazz is there to pass the time.)" Starscream slowly turned her head to focus her burning visage to his dumbfounded countenance.

"(Do you want to be a mere hobby, Thundercracker? Do you want me to play with your _little_ feelings?)"

"…..YOU DON'T DECIDE WHAT **I **DO TRIBURST-_MMPH!!!_"

Starscream suddenly found their faces locked together, her wing mate clumsily waltzing around the room to search for the door switch between their fumbling limbs. Her muffled cries were ignored and the blue jet roughly pinned her down to her own recharge bed, stopping to pull himself away from her to get a better view. Starscream's lips drew into a tight line as her internal systems was chasing itself into a frenzy. Gazing down on her with a stern look of determination, Thundercracker waited for her next move.

-------

The purple jet did remember one thing that occurred in the earliest hours of Cybertron. As intimidating as she looked, Skywarp could not turn his audio receptors offline to the scuffling of limbs or the muted cries in the next room. His wobbling vision searched for the door. It was locked.

Well, they don't call him Skywarp for nothing.

Doing as his namesake suggests became a fortunate decision to the Decepticon aerial commander. A fury of arms and legs belonging to Skywarp's wing mates met his optics, inciting the purple seeker to throw his weight into his blue counterpart. Astray wires and circuits tore from their extensions, snapping the air in defiance as the purple warrior made a spirited pounce on top the blue jet and started wearing savage fists onto his face and chest. The femme con pulled herself up to regain her senses, hastily inching away on her recharge bed from the tussle and frantically collecting what was left of her modesty hanging out of her chassis. Starscream's vermillion optics quivered with inquisitive horror at her purple counterpart's berserk fit over their wingmate, his arms venting more destructive force with every hit.

-------

'_I don't want this to happen to me…I've seen it before, but I don't-! I don't understand don't do it to me please I don't want to know! I love Megatron! I wanted him! It was different that time! I wanted him! Just like you want…me...no…No no no…I don't-…don't…_' A younger Starscream would have been pleading and swallowing her tears, just like most Decepticon females. Her wrists were pinned over her head by a larger pair of blue hands. Her wrung fists broke into her palms, fissuring the worn lines to crush the circuits buried underneath.

Starscream was truly afraid, and was perplexed as to what she could do to lighten her situation.

…So she started laughing.

"…W-What do you want to do now, Thundercracker, hm? Take away my modesty?" The blue jet's mouth gapped open stupidly.

"…Reminds me **so** much of Megatron…" the red seeker teasingly purred in a seductive manner, serving an estranged invite and a warning at the same time.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Starscream's head rolled to away from his gaze in false submission to his words.

"…Go on, do your worst. At least I now I don't have to worry about being taken by some stranger…that's what friends are for, right?"

Was she joking? Did she want to…?

Why did he take her comment as an invite?

-------

"Ready to board the space bridge, commander Starscream?" Shockwave's yellow ocular blinked for a confirmation. Starscream and company stood in an obvious fashion within the space bridge.

"Beam me up, Shocky." Skywarp muttered to himself, earning an indifferent gaze from the one armed Decepticon.

"…All right then." A flick of a switch, and the trio felt their bodies traversing at immeasurable speeds they cannot dream to achieve in the clear skies.

-------

"Skywarp, **stop.**" The addressed seeker continued to smash his knuckles into Thundercracker until one of them fell into stasis lock.

"…Stop it Skywarp stop-…stop hitting him, he's not thinking straight-stop hit-_STOP HITTING HIM HIS CEREBRAL CIRCUITS WERE **GILTED** A FEW BREEMS AGO!!!_"

The command quickly galled the purple seeker to throw a heated look at the her.

"SLAG FEMALE WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP HIM?!!!" Wrathful optics lanced back at Thundercracker's sore state, and Skywarp rudely slapped the unconscious seeker's helmet to find it mangled from the near back; not life threatening, but a definite blow to keep the cerebral board glitching. A glimpse of one detached null ray to the side, callously thrown from the recharge berth caught his optic. Starscream found the Decepticon warrior staring at her vulnerable circuitry, but her right arm could not obey her involuntarily, having been rendered stiff from paralysis.

-------

Astrotrain was more than glad to carry the items back to base, save for the three seekers escorting the contents within his form. The triple changer was not used to them obediently obeying the bleak hum within his space, and neither did he care more or less. Their aspen leader's instructions were as clear as day: transport the seekers back to base, unload the packages and distribute them to the troops according to rank and file. The first few candidates for receiving 'presents' goes out to Starscream after Megatron, as always.

"Feh!" he spat out loud.

-------

"…Starscream…" a sad frown glazed Skywarp's dour expression. Picking himself up from Thundercracker, he prudently jolted back when she winced away from his out stretched arm. Clumsily scooping her circuitry back into herself, Starscream did not refuse a pair of tense hands aiding her in keeping her cockpit open, collecting her cords in an untidy mesh and tucking them back into their rightful place. Closing her chassis to spare then from further embarrassment, the Decepticon warrior looked at the aerial commander with genuine concern. Is she all right? Does it hurt anywhere? Skywarp pondered, scrutinizing the shaken red seeker austere countenance, reserving herself from looking vulnerable or fragile.

She looked dead inside.

"(…Not one word to Megatron)." The aerial commander spoke in an unfound humbleness from her character, leaving Skywarp shifting in vexation at the weight of her words.

-------

"Had fun, Starscream?" Megatron's graveled voice echoed within his quarters. The door shuck open with an unwelcome entry, and it's tenant listened to weightless feet stride into his quarters. Megatron felt his fuel pump skip in expected elation. Starscream facial reply was to sneer at his remark, her leader taking a small side glance over his shoulder in feigned disinterest. She coyly drew back when a crescent smile cut his face into a perverse grin.

-------

"…'Screamer, you okay-?" the purple jet asked.

"(I cannot feel my right arm and leg)," her vacuous stare penetrated the dim light.

"'No con, I mean-!"

-------

She had something for him. Her folded arms behind her wings made it blatantly obvious. Maybe, if she was in a better mood, she would…'glomp'? 'Glomp' him? Skywarp was making a weak joke, mentioning the time she did so in her misadventures in the past.

All females Decepticons must smile when they greet the superior males. Smile, because their partners worked hard; when _they_ reach home, _they_ deserve the small reward, **that** small reward, to have something pretty and feminine to look at. That pretty thing has no reason not to grace a smile on her face, even if he returned with missing limbs, or their close families were exterminated in the war, or-

-------

"(Don't be angry at Thundercracker-)" Starscream stopped talking when she felt Skywarp's sympathetic hand place itself on her taut shoulder.

-------

So she smiled, her usual devilish smile.


	29. Chapter 28: It

**Chapter 28: It**

A/N: Bleeeeeeeh…. :P

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"Hmmm…the components look simple in design, but don't let that fool you. We need a detailed analysis of Megatron's smuggled item…where's Wheeljack?"

"Wheeljack's down and out for the count after another brilliant experiment spontaneous combusted in his face."

"Wheeljack's lab, one, mad scientist, _ze_**ro**."

Optimus Prime's databanks drove straight for the next suitable candidate in the click of a thought. "What about Perceptor?"

"Bill Nye the Science Guy?"

"Well, ol' boy Percy was de_lightfully_ intrigued by Wheeljack's innovative new-fangled experiment, and in an unfortunate deal of circumstances, I'm afraid he too partook in the devastating explosion after inviting himself into Wheeljack's personal workspace." Sideswipe received a confusing stare from Ironhide before the older Transformer continued.

"Ahm sorreh' Phrime, but Ratchet's too busy fixin' 'dere busted fenders."

"Skyfire-?!"

"He resigned from the Autobot ranks to become a neutral, remember? He said he wanted to explore other planets and study their wildlife just like he did before at first, but now he's going out to find alternate fuel resources for Cybertron without having to fight the war and stuff! Right?"

"(I know…)" the Autobot leader rubbed his temples between a sigh at his grievances.

-------

The purple jet _swore_ he saw Astrotrain drop a stray package out of his…tailgate. He knew it. He didn't care if the triple changer did it purposely or not. Swimming through cluttered bags of shopping on his knees, Skywarp's hands sifted frantically through the wrappers as the astroseconds sped by his internal chronometer. Things were missing. Things, things, important things, that belonged to-

-------

"I got a 'gift' for you, oh _mighty_ Megatron," Starscream bowed lowly in contempt, leaving Megatron to be verbally curt. "Where is it, femme?"

The female Decepticon whipped out her hands over her head, procuring a pair of stylised energon glasses from her back. Occupying her other hand was an elegant transparent container, enriched with a shimmering turquoise liquid, teasingly hanging onto Starscream's fingers by the ear.

"Ta daaaa," she cheered in mild triumph, striking an alluring pose. Putting the dull surprise aside, Starscream shook her head, tching at her leader.

"Please Megatron, everything has been sorted out. That's why _I'm_ **your** second-in-command." Her legs tiptoed gracefully approached the aspen tyrant on its tips, pulling her arms out to float back onto Megatron's broad shoulders. "(Relax…)"

"That little 'vacation' has made you _lax_, Starscream," Megatron growled in deep resonance into her audio receptors, but his dark vermillion optics betrayed his interests and eyed the promising decanter. "I'll take your word…for now," he drew back, brushing his nose against her cheek. "I see you've bought some poison for me?"

"The _good_ kind, oh great leader." Starscream twirled her hands in an artistic motion, freeing the silky blue energon form its prison to meet the pair of glasses waiting in her other hand.

"Energon made only for the strongest of wills…and fuel containers." Starscream crooned behind one glass, offering the other to her leader. Megatron's pretzeled arms remained adamantly across his chest. "You take a sip first."

The aerial commander huffed in disbelief. "I know you don't fully trust me Megatron, but it's only a drink. Or are you too much of a coward to try it yourself?"

"Speak for yourself, female," the grey Transformer scoffed at his partner. Entering the room in an untimely manner, the two Decepticons found themselves engrossed in the small Cassetticon.

"Why, he_llo_ Rumble…" Starscream extended her greeting with a purr. Quickly scanning the scene gave Rumble a clear idea of what they had in stall for him, and without a solution to escape from it. A bark from Megatron and Starscream's drink soon found its way into his hands. Rumble didn't like it, and Megatron didn't care. "Taste it."

"Y-yes sir…" Rumble gulped. '_F-Fer the glory of, eh-…_' Rumble stared at the liquid playfully reflecting onto his visors. '…_Oh slag, I'm gonna die!_'

A hearty mouthful beautifully glided down his small throat, despite the forced gulp. Rumble's face lit up in a newfound enthusiasm without any spark threatening signs, but Megatron waited for half a breem to make sure. It seems the only drawback to the 'poisonous' drink was the insatiable need to finish Starscream's share, which she fully objected to and snatched her glass back. Rumble exited the room as soon as he came in, and Megatron observed his subordinate kissing her drink ever so lightly.

"…(It's too strong for me)," she mumbled to herself, shifting her eyes to view Megatron downing his share. "(I thought you were going to swallow your glass there)."

"What did you say?"

"I'm a weak female who can't handle her drink…oh! Who will catch me when I faint?" she placed a whimsical hand to her head, going unnoticed by the Decepticon leader. "MEGATRON!!!"

"Foolish female, swayed over by a 'strong' drink. What gobble-de-gook!"

-------

Each individual piece lay on table, eagerly waiting for the Autobot's to assemble it together or get it's minute components lost in the process. Teletraan One only recognised the object to be of Cybertron origin, but that was made obvious when Blaster returned from their home planet with it. Which means it must be the latest technology, and it's creator a genius. The super computer of the Ark also told the Autobots that any harmless parts belonging to the final product were serrated further, to mimic unimportant fillings in the shopping bag as a disguise.

A pair of blue optics belonging to a grey Datsun scanned the individual pieces, waiting for a revelation to hit him. It looked so familiar. All he did to add himself to its mystery was rant about Skyfire's undoubted occupation when Optimus Prime asked, walking in the room without notice and…these…these things are so…! He needed to put a word…a face…a **some**thing to it, but he did feel strangely sentimental. Uselessly sentimental. Just like the unwanted memories of his hometown being destroyed. '_No,_' he thought. '_I don't know how important this is, but I know (I think, not really, I dunno)-_'

'_NEVERMIND!_' the Autobot cleared his mind.'_…I can fix it! Wheeljack, Perceptor, Ratchet, Prowl-…they can scold me later! I **KNOW** I can do this!_'

Bluestreak pulled the nearest seat to the table and started patching the Decepticon puzzle together.

-------

Disobeying the normal procedures of walking straight, Megatron's right foot criss-crossed over its boundaries to his other foot, making the tyrant catch the wall before he could stumble stupidly across the room. The 'gobble-de-gook' was quite strong after all. Waltzing to the nearest chair, the grey Transformer fell into the seat trying to find his work and his equilibrium at the same time. If anything, the device he requested for should be with the Constructicons. Waiting for the giddiness to pass, Megatron decided to check on its progress after his optics stopped inanely scanning random objects.

-------

Skywarp panic was replaced by fear, washed over by dread, before sadness gripped his cerebral circuits. He couldn't find it. He just couldn't. It was so important, he knew. And the worst part of it all, was the fact that his aerial commander personally told him to guard the packages. Him! Skywarp! Why would Starscream leave him to do something so responsible! The purple jet recalled the duration of his state of intoxication on Cybertron, which lasted (insert shameful truth-hiding cough here), everyday.

-------

"Wheeljack to Optimus Prime! Do you read me?"

"Loud and clear Wheeljack. How's work on the Decepticon parts from Cybertron?"

"The parts from Cybertron…they're gone!"

"What?! Red Alert, do you copy?"

"I'm check the camera's recordings right now but the last person I saw in there was Bluestreak! I thought he was just looking at the parts-wait! He's working on it, but-! Optimus he's fixed it, Bluestreak's fixed it-! I can't see! It's in his arms he went down hall-no, I _knew_ we should have fixed that camera! Now we'll never know where-!"

"Calm down, Red."

"I can't calm down Optimus, it-! It jumped out of his **hands!**"

"Red Alert-!"

"_It's loose in the Ark! It's running but-! Whatisitwhatisit?!!!_"

"Wheeljack, get Bluestreak and ask him what he's done to those parts. Red Alert, gather any available troops in the Ark to search for that thing, whatever it is."

-------

"Starscream…" Skywarp whimpered pitifully, twiddling his thumbs. Holding an unconscious Rumble in her arms, Starscream checked his condition once more to make sure the Cassetticon was not too overcharged; Soundwave would have none of it, and his emotional tantrums were as rare as they are unbearable. She looked up at her wingmate, neither convinced or amused.

"…What is it now Skywarp?" she stroked the sleeping Cassetticon's head with her thumb. If it grew any wider, Skywarp's frown could slice his own head into half.

"I-I-…I can't find iiiit…" he sniffed, rubbing his nose to hold back his emotions.

-------

"Bluestreak?"

"Yeap that's me, Bluestreak! Yup-tee-doo! How're you feeling Wheeljacky?"

"Where is it?"

"….Where is what? What are you talking about? I didn't see anything-!"

"Red Alert saw you chasing after it, don't lie."

"I, aaaah…well you see, the thing is…I-…um, well, it was down here a minute ago and…well-…ummmm, ah, eeerh…I can't find it Wheeljack I'm so sorry please don't kill me."

A private call from Red Alert told Wheeljack where to find the young Autobot. Walking down the curved hall, the resident scientist found the grey Datsun emerging from a corridor, darting his head in all possible directions, before traversing down opposite end of the hall from Wheeljack. Tip-toeing comically could not save Bluestreak from Wheeljack's voice.

"Bluestreak!" Wheeljack's head extensions flashed a bright red, making the younger bot jump in fright. "YEEP!"

The clicking of hurried feet ran deliriously until it leapt from the ground, giving the young Autobot no room to response to its flurried attack. The scientist was too late to react when it lunge straight at Bluestreak's face, forcing the gunner to fall to the ground. The sound of trampling feet echoed from the halls, caused by Optimus Prime and company following Wheeljack's alarm.

-------

"I don't think we are allowed to keep such a thing here, and you know it," the aerial commander shrugged. "Plus, anything in your care will never see its first sunrise. Or sunset."

The purple seeker shivered and retreated into his room, stopping by the door in remembrance of a thought that had passed.

"Hey Screamer, have you given Megatron get that really important device-thingy?"

-------

"Ha ha ha! Stop it! It-! It tickles!!!"

"What the-?!" Wheeljack grabbed his head awkwardly.

Relentlessly licking and pawing Bluestreak's face, the canine creature gave no mercy to the hapless young Autobot. It's mosaic surface glimmered and winked reflections at the Autobots gathered around Bluestreak; a small result of Starscream disassembling its outer shell to resemble something more useful to the Decepticon leader.

"This is the cutest puppyoid ever (stop it!) I've not seen one (hee hee) in like, so many millions-c'mon!"

-------

"I'm sorry you lost your pet…it was a loyal (nameless) beast to the end, sacrificing it's chassis for my creator's device, bringing us closer to conquest. It spark was not lost in vain, and we shall commemorate your puppyoid's unquestioned bravery with a breem of silence." Starscream raised a fist to her chest and stared forward, dwelling in the glorious moment. "…You haven't even taken it out of its box yet and it's already on its way to the Inferno. A new personal record, Skywarp."

"Shaddup 'Screamer! And it's name's Warpy! (…At least, that's what _I_ would have called-)" Skywarp halted his thoughts. "Wait…"

The Decepticon femme simply rolled her head. "What is it."

"…Wh-Where's TC?" the purple jet's optics widened in horror. "Oh Primus, does Megatron-!"

"Yes." Starscream answered flatly.

"Is TC-?!"

"No, he's still alive."

"Where is-!"

Starscream pinched the air in front of Skywarp's mouth with her hand, and the seeker stopped jabbering. "For once, I wished you'd use your circuits to _think_ Skywarp."

"…He's in the brig."


	30. Chapter 29: A Safe Place

**Chapter 29: A Safe Place**

A/N: Where is Thundercracker?! Well, he's in the-**_SNOOOORE-! _**(Want to write, but eyes…so sore…tired…sick...never mind…ideas…popping out like-) **_SNOOOOOORE!!!_**

-------

What was a primitive hole dug out by Scavenger looking for items of worth became a useful commodity, proving the needy Constructicon's worth for just a few astroseconds. Rolling through the parched landscape was a green dump truck, carrying a plain metal box and his usual discontent for menial jobs such as this.

"You'd think war would make life interestin'…" Long Haul complained to himself. "But what did **_I_** get turned into when I got here? A slaggin' **dump** truck! Geez, thanks a bunch for reminding me how useful I yam outta the _usual!_" Scavenger's optics lit eagerly at Long Haul's arrival with the new cargo. The disgruntled Decepticon reverted to his root mode, disregarding the box tumbling off him to meet his team mate. Hooking the air with a finger, Long Haul brought the insecure Transformer's attention to the jejune box. "C'mon Scavvy! 'Deceptibabe told us ta' load this baby in yer' new project, so get to it!"

Scuttling around the hole with said box in hands, Scavenger made sure to let it drop in unison with Long Haul. The last time he _wasn't_ in synch with Long Haul almost threw him into the previous hole due to the immense weight of the box. The Constructicons watched as the box clumsily travel down the hole until it joined the darkness. It's landing was signalled with a plaintive thud, alerting Scavenger to fill up the cavity in the earth.

"…I can't wait to dig it back out…" Scavenger's shovel scattered the remaining soil over the sealed hollow. The dump truck snorted unintelligently.

"Yeah, yeah, way to go Scavvy, now c'mon! We're due back at HQ breems ago!" Long Haul started to drive away in his root mode, followed by his team mate.

"So, who's in there this time?"

-------

They didn't have a brig.

Starscream did this to him because she cared.

Because, if Megatron were to punish him…he was loss for words. He could roughly judge how far he fell, even if his head was clamped in-between his knees. There was no space to move his arms, looped around his body. His wings were detached.

A fitting position for Thundercracker in solitary confinement. A safe place from Megatron.

…Starscream did care.

Is it because…? Does she know how much he felt for her that day? Did she get a sign, a jolt, an electrical revelation in their brief union? He was not sure that day. His vision was blur. Wet even. But he should have kept away from her if he was glitched. He knew he had a glitch that day. Yes, he had a cerebral malfunction after the skirmish, so he couldn't control his actions-

No. He can't lie to himself. Being able to register his previous state meant that he had a certain amount of rationality in mind. In other words, he knew he was glitching, but like all fools governed by their emotions, took them off the mental leash to run loose. Uninhibited carnal desires took him for a ride, and he could have just…not…done it. Thundercracker was already regretting. Skywarp should have slugged him harder. Starscream should have reprimand him to such fierce extremities, that her vocal processors would just break under the stress. He did something wrong.

Ideation in a leaning box was not improving. And the inhibitor planted in his systems took away the luxury of stasis lock, so if he did fall into recharge, his mind will continue running.

Hopefully, they would dig him out before his fuel pump ran dry…he had a lot to think about. That small spark of hope rose in his chest…

-------

Megatron planned this project almost a year ahead, disguising his motives with layers of short termed plans to decimate the Autobot's numbers. Stealing energon usually diverted the Autobot's attention, coupled by any new weapons of mass destruction he could invent, create, or even imagine. A pinch of disappointment was the most Megatron felt when he lost said weapons, because it could have had much more potential in bringing more Autobots to his knees as melted slag. Most of them did not meet his quota of Autobot fatalities. The grey Transformer wondered whether his eternal rival knew of his plans…then again, repetition had already moulded itself into their lives. And that brought about routine, which the tyrant happily exploited. How to get himself _out_ of that cycle was a different question…

His vermillion optics scrutinised the eight identical monuments forming a rough circle around Cybertron. As proof of his immeasurable power, the Decepticon leader gave the order to create these harmless architectural structures, and as the vorns flew by, Transformers began to populate themselves around each of them. Safe zones to Decepticon's and their sympathisers, the Autobot's moral consciousness prevented them from attacking in fear of harming the civilians. And what for? The hollow monuments only served as casual watch towers or fanciful space. The area around it was littered with Decepticons. Soon, the reputation of the structures as 'an underlying threat' dumb down to 'a useless waste of materials in Cybertron's desperate times'.

And in the centre of Cybertron, a new tower was to be built, putting Triburst's new invention to use.

Excellent.

-------

"Hey Motormaster!" the purple seeker at the opposite end of the mess hall hollered to the supercilious trailer truck. Said Decepticon turned his body to find Skywarp surrounded by the Coneheads, waving a data pad around in a spastic fit of giggles. "Seen the new issue of Hot Hot Femmes yeeeeeet?!!!"

"So what if I have, ya' purple Perverticon?! I already saw the Gestalt Girls in it!" The Constructicon perked their heads in interest before Motormaster's unappreciated comment. "Construction vehicles are slaggin' ugly anyway!"

…And the green and purple gestalt team glared at the Stunticon leader, anticipating another canteen brawl if Skywarp had the right mind to shut his jaws shut.

"Yeah, well I got three words for you Motor_douche**bag!**_" Skywarp's face appeared above the triangular heads, holding the sacred data pad in his hands.

"Yo' **fat** _roboMOMMA!!!_"

The Constructicons were right anyway.

-------

It only took a few astroseconds for the Decepticon leader to comprehend Starscream's report on Thundercracker's indecorous behaviour, but the red seeker's feet were already bolted to the ground. She took small comfort in knowing that she admitted her personal misadventures verbally, rather than wait for him to connect to her and…well, find out the hard way. There was no point fighting against them; Thundercracker's mind was literally out of place at that point in time, and Megatron preferred female submissiveness to their 'masters'. Her blue wing mate was already facing punishment under her direct orders, because Megatron would have done worst to them both. And he _knew_.

"…You stupid slut." Megatron flicked Starscream's chin out of his hand, and paced the room like a feral beast, save for his hands tied around his back as a civil show of controlled agitation. Quartering the blue seeker would do no good to quell his resentment, and torturing Starscream was becoming an old game. The femme con may beg and plead all she could, but Starscream never looked entirely vulnerable due to her persistent determination in challenging his authority. He quietly turned his attention to his latest plan on screen, an orchestrated masterpiece exploiting the Autobot's weakness.

Swinging around, Megatron rammed his large fist into her head, side punching his second-in-command.

-------

'_Stupid slut_.'

Starscream thought he would let the matter rest, but she couldn't bluff herself when his hand forced her to the ground. Maybe her leader would stop beating her after two breems, but the abuse extended beyond her endurance and she fell into stasis lock. It has been like this for the past few days, the fatigue, the stress, taking its toll on her systems. When the warm red light reflected off her helmet and her optics came back online, she found herself being carried by another Transformer. Rumble was following the dark feet plodding towards the med bay.

She hated it. The deep enigmatic resonance, radiating from Soundwave's body. It just showed how humble and overly modest (so to say), the Decepticon communications officer felt, if one such as her got fairly comfortable with his presence. '_Rumble, Rumble, Rumble. Always there to save me_'. The optics playfully flickered at the thought before she went offline again. Megatron was so angry at her, she felt something stir deep within her chassis. And his plan was so close to execution, the last thing Megatron needed was some crass femme con to ruffle his feathers.

That means he felt…hurt? Somehow, that made her happy.

-------

A/N: Sorry for the delay. :P Got a lot of stuff cramming my head right now, but have no fear! This fanfic DOES have an actual plot! …Sadly, those who have read up to this chapter has been subjugated by my bullsh-t! XD Thanks for the reviews and your support again! Updated the chapter, hopefully its more coherent XP


	31. Chapter 30: Sirens

**Chapter 30: Sirens**

A/N: Hey, thanks again for reviewing and reading and pointing out my mistakes ;) 'Said before, it really, really helps, thank you! (I got annoyed that I spelt leader wrongly in the last chapter, I want to kill myself) :P Probably gonna revisit this chapter to clean things up. Gimme a shout if something's fishy, thanks:D

Brobdingnag is a place in Gulliver's Travel's, where everything is huge, so to say that something is Brobdingnagian means it's really, really, OMG huge XD On with the chapter!

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"Has anyone seen Woop-Woop?"

The collected Autobots stationed in the common room look up from their own business, to find a young Datsun standing by the doorway. His twiddling thumbs meant that the puppyoid was unfound for more than a breem, which also meant that somewhere, someone in the Ark was going to suffer. A certain someone, who's alt mode was a police car and works as _the_ Autobot strategist; the master and keeper of all datapads of the most importance, with the cultivated personality of a wooden plank. The one Autobot who takes jokes with a raised optic, whose name contains five special letters…and it starts with a very modest 'p'.

In comes Prowl and the barking catastrophe with legs. Its limbs scattered around its body like a hurricane, Woop-Woop tirelessly yaps and kicks like it's the end of the world…

…Inside the strategist's back somewhere. Kicking and yapping like it's the end of the world. _Somewhere_.

Woop-Woop's limbs accidentally sets off the sirens on Prowl, assaulting the room and its occupants with repeated hues of red and blue.

"(Woop woop woop…)" Spike weakly states the obvious onomatopoeia, mimicking the sound coming from Prowl's back.

-------

Safely situated away from the Autobot's headquarters and an apocalyptic metal canine, the Decepticon Nemesis sleeps on the ocean floor, surrounded by aquatic wildlife. The shuttle continues its flightless slumber despite the Decepticons trafficking themselves through its hallways, like blood running in a complex network of metal veins. After two weeks of solitary confinement, Thundercracker was unearthed from the ground to be brought below the surface once again, barely functioning. A hearty click from his back satisfied the seeker to know that his wings were being put back in its original place, and all that remains now, is to test tested it's flexibility. Transforming into an F-15 and back, Thundercracker gave Hook a thumbs up in appreciation of his surgical finesse, until their attentions were adverted to the communications officer standing by the doorway.

'_Oh hello, it's Megatron's **second** pet._'

'_Busybody poking his nose into other people's business..._'

Soundwave ignored the mental grumblings resonating from their transparent minds and stood focused on the orders at hand. Having recited, repeated and varied the words chanted to insubordinate Decepticons, Soundwave repeated the final reprimand to Thundercracker with a bobbing faceplate.

"Thundercracker. Punishment has been met. Assurance of disobedience to be not repeated." Thundercracker tried to mimic Soundwave's look of indifference.

"…I won't do it again." Soundwave's visor's blinked once at Thundercracker's answer. "Report to your immediate superior after refueling."

'_I should step on his stupid cassettes…pompous suck up-!_'

The navy blue Decepticon waited for the doors to shut, before plodding back to retrieve his cassettes. He always liked skipping their wandering thoughts in mid-sentence.

-------

"I don't geddit…Starscream says he's not ta' blame, but why?!" the purple Cassetticon opened his palms out in emphasis. His red counterpart simply shrugged in reply.

"'Cause he's a bozo, that's why," Frenzy answered plainly. "Hey, don't get so hung up on this femme, they're all trouble anyway-"

"HEY! I'm not 'hung up' on her! Whaddif' ours got the same treatment-!" the cassettes held their silence after Rumble stopped wagging his chin. They never liked talking about relatives back home, especially when said Transformers dwindled in numbers with the escalation of war.

"(Dumb slag head, nothin's gonna happen to them, awright-?!)"

"Get out the way bitch, get out the way! Skywarp the great, _comin'_ through!" a half-whistle accompanied the crude lyrics, as a pair of arms parted the air in a swimming motion. The Cassetticons scrunched up their faces in unison at the purple jet marching down the hallway.

"Shaddup you piece of slag!" Skywarp pretended not to notice the duo, bowing his head low to find the source of the insult. In mock surprise the seeker gasped, sucking in air with an egg shaped mouth.

"Oh, well _what_ do _we_ have **_here?_**" Skywarp bent his knees to rest his hands on them, adopting a more comfortable position to stare down at the cassettes. "Itty bitty sparklings on their way to **school!** What's _wrong_ widdle sparklings, are you _wost?_"

"Keep your pervert mitts off the femmes, you slaggin' sicko!" Rumble snapped back. "That blue freak of yours needs ta' be put on a leash!"

"Yeah, he outta be slagged! I'd say we kill the freak!" That last sentence provoked Skywarp far enough, but the duo found the seeker calmly fixed to the ground. It didn't help when he stretched his lips open to a maniacal grin.

"…**Rum**ble…_Fren_**zy**…" Skywarp spoke between his teeth. "…Where's Soundwave?"

The duo looked at each other quizzically.

"…Or 'Screamer?" Skywarp hissed even lower. "…Where's Ms. Megatron?"

The Cassetticons turned to Skywarp to relieve the uneasy feelings swimming in their fuel pumps.

"...So…." the jet narrowed his gleaming optics, "…no one's here to help you now…….right?"

"We don't need help you SKYTWERP-**_AAAAHPFHRFFF----HHHT!!!!_**"

Within an astrosecond, the Nemesis raised it's lift to let Skywarp out, bursting from the entrance with the Cassetticons roped by the feet. In a frenzied gusto, the F-15 took manic dives and spinning barrel rolls, displaying his prowess of flight to the dizzy cassettes having little chance of setting themselves free. A red optic magnified it's view to spot the wire lassoed between Skywarp's cockpit and his wings, acting like a collar for the prankster. A blue seeker had placed himself on a cliff some time ago, shaded by the shadows of the surrounding fauna to take his fill of energon. Not that he wasn't detectable. If Thundercracker took flight without applying a certain amount of stealth, he would register as a flying house on radar.

He was supposed to report to the aerial commander breems ago, but the Decepticon found himself lost in thought once again. It was no secret that Thundercracker discriminated against those who cannot fly; even _thinking_ of the Stunticons' creation alone made his fuel pump churn with disgust. And most mechanisms with a functioning circuit board would be intimidated by the Decepticon leader's Brobdingnagianpower. Other than his elitist attitude towards the 'grounded' and his obedience to Megatron (a shared mentality among the troops), there was nothing else to know about Thundercracker.

Vorns before the war had _re_started, the future Decepticon reminded himself of a hollow, unstrung marionette. Transparent alongside the sea of students cum recruits, replenishing his fuel supply only satisfied his physical needs. But he thought. And he thought. And for a change of pace, he scratched his wing, then he thought some more, working his cerebral processors overtime in quiet contemplation.

Was he existing for the sake of it?

Refuelling, working, fighting...there was no answer to the ennui of life…

…Until she came. Unexpectedly jettisoned into their lives as a wing mate, leader, and a very difficult, but fairly bearable friend.

No one made Thundercracker feel more useful and useless at the same time. When the lamentation over the meaning of his life resurfaced, she happily dashed his grievances away, with a snappy retort from the sharp end of her tongue. And when he really tested her patience, a feral scream was just as effective. There was no time for his thoughts to dawdle. What mattered now was _her_ desires for the Decepticon leadership. Her drive, her palpable determination to overthrow Megatron, including her candid plans was almost nonsensical. The blue jet would stifle a chuckle when she threw a hissy fit, serving the ground some form of injustice by branding it with her heels. But…her perseverance was dauntless.

When her plans were born and she reached it's zenith, Starscream shone as bright as the constellations itself. Ready to engulf planets whole with the fruition of her daring patience and her adventurous designs, Thundercracker saw the elation radiate from her very being. A mere touch of a finger was all she needed to drown in the ecstasy of success, a feeling he could never fathom even with his imagination.

…He couldn't say he didn't envy her.

Her actions were reckless, and as many doubted her, he would warn her of the consequences to follow. Despite her casting a cavalier look, the red seeker would take his warning into account. He could see her now, her lips pressed against each other before blinking away her doubts. Earning a place in her circle of trust…literally being, the personal space around her; anyone in an uninvited position was sneered away. Her general disposition towards Thundercracker was more relaxed, as her wings would droop casually and her acerbic jokes were more enjoyable, because Starscream would reserve it for many others before her friends. The last time he saw her…

…She had a passing frown, a fleeting look of disappointment. He wanted to talk with her, confess his mistakes, but when they touched Earth, she did not hesitate to give the order to the Constructicons.

'_Thundercracker is to be placed in solitary confinement. Scavenger, bury him in the deepest trench you can find…and if you _can't_ find one, **make** one._'

It was too late for apologies.

-------

Then again, there was still hope for Thundercracker.

Starscream checked her internal chronometer for the umpteenth time. He was _supposed_ to call her breems ago. Even the Earth's sun was starting to set by now! If she called him right now (in front of Megatron, of all Transformers), or searched for him, it would just prove that her leadership skills were passively weak. And the Decepticon tyrant would find her troops laxity quite amusing, before he belts her waning pride. This is _not _**FUNNY!** She didn't care WHAT he did to her in the past, not right now anyway…he has his own _stupid_, LOUSY reasons. Don't fight with her Autobot boyfriend. Don't get your brain boards knocked out of place. Don't start glitching. Don't do something you wouldn't usually do and regret…

It just wasn't Thundercracker.

…Why did she save him from Megatron's mercy?

Thundercracker…he broke her trust. He broke their trust. Even Skywarp, who's mind is as sharp as a bowling ball, could comprehend the complexity of the misdeed. Like a child who's caught in the middle of his parents feud, alienates himself from the situation and its aftereffects. Wanting nothing to do between their strained relationship, the purple seeker bothers himself with other things to fill in the mundane gaps. After all the personal insults about his intelligence, Skywarp seems to be the most well-off between the three to avoid such petty conflicts.

She knew what he did to her was going to happen, it was no surprise. It was going to happen eventually. This is war. Things happen in war. His actions was a morbid reminder of her gender, and the many ways one could exploit it…NO! Starscream mentally waved away the shallow presumptions. She did not get to her position by batting her optics or by sheer 'luck'! She toiled and bled energon to get to where she is! Life has dealt cruel fates to many, Transformer or not, and she lived past them all, because she is isn't just some mindless life form drifting in the present-

"Starscream! Starscream, do you hear me, an Autobot attack-!"

"-'Screamer, the sirens are off! Troubletrouble_trouble-!"_

As soon she heard her wing mates voice over her internal radio, the warning sirens blared within the Nemesis, an automatic response to any troublemaker stirring in the vicinity of the Decepticon headquarters. The click from her rifles was all she needed to prepare herself, and Starscream headed out of the command room to the source of the trouble, leaving Megatron to warm his arm cannon in anticipation of a direct assault. Starscream was itching to break radio contact to make sure it wasn't who she thought it was, but common logic told her otherwise. If it really was the Jazz, he'd better have a very good reason to make a house call.


	32. Chapter 31: The Final Limerence I

**Chapter 31: The Final Limerence I / Once Bitten…**

A/N: Happy Chinese New Year everyone! A day late, but meh :D

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Out of all the Combaticons to be singled out and physically pancaked to the floor, Swindle wasn't amused. The mere mention of the gestalt group was enough to wane their enemies morale and question their bravery. Mentioning Swindle was enough to let a Transformer know that his bank account was going to miss a few extra zeros to a small jeep. No one ran in alarm when the Decepticon 'entrepreneur' arrived unless his comrades were right behind him, being the lone fox amongst an ambush of tigers; and right now, he was feeling very lonely, and very unconscious. His deranged teammates screaming over his communicator wasn't enough to rouse him out of his force induced stasis lock.

"HEY SWINDLE, ANSWER YA' LITTLE WIMP-!"

"-Eh-hyah ha hah! C'mon buddy, who'd hit ya' upside the head now?"

"Shut up and get to his position, we have to-get the SLAG out of my way!!!"

It was none of the Stunticons direct business, but the alarm was enough to stir their battle wits and tires careening along the walls to avoid the other Decepticons. The yellow jeep couldn't hear them anyway. Last he saw was a dour blue seeker walking past him, lifting his head in mild interest at Swindle. Catching the jet's aghast look and following the direction his finger was pointing at, Swindle was too slow to react and found the floor rising to meet his face. His helmet trembled slightly to the vibration, growing more and more volatile until the Decepticons feet stopped where Swindle's head lay. Following the length of his arm from his shoulder, Soundwave espied the Combaticon's hand stretched out of reach from the alarm switch, decorating the dull corridors every few hundred meters.

It didn't make sense. Unless the intruder was ignorant of the basic alarm system in the Nemesis, no one would intentionally surprise a Decepticon inches away from calling the rest of the army to its presence. _Unless_…the perpetrator's intentions _was_ to distract a fair number of soldiers, clogging the hallways…

-------

"Starscream, where are you?"

"Where are _YOU?!_"

"-Autobot-!….Ran off-...(chasing aft-)….-heading his way!….."

"Thundercracker, Thunder-! Do you _read_ me?!"

"'Screamer, where is he, WHERE-?!"

"Hold on to your cockpits and calm down! He couldn't have gone far!" Starscream snapped her communicator shut to flit a glance at her leader from the door. Despite the scolding lights and the disorganized troops, thundering through the Nemesis to look for an excuse to turn metal to slag, he did not even move a centimeter. The great aspen Decepticon was disturbingly quiescent, with his large black hands folded over the other, and a pair of blood red optics fixated on the space in front of him. Listening to the door slide shut, Megatron was left to his own devices as his second-in-command retreated down the halls to find the culprit.

'_Megatron would be fine on his own…_' she mulled. '_Is it you Jazz?_…_Because if it is, I cannot help you now…_'

-------

"Yo, TC, TC! Where he at 'con, WHERE HE AT?!"

"Where are **you?**"

"I'm on the upper deck, what'd he look like-?!"

"Upper-! Upper deck-?! Warp, don't go there, everyone's there!"

"What the slag?!"

"Wait 'round the bottom deck, damn 'bot might try to escape there! Ever think of that?!"

"Roger wilco!"

"Wha---?"

-------

"Out of the way men!" Starscream crumpled past the mass of bodies until she identified herself to the dull painted Combaticons. Slowly coming to in Vortex's clawed hands, Brawl did the honours of hollering the yellow jeep back to reality. Onslaught and the aerial commander quietly exchanged glances of authority, until Swindle mumbled something unintelligently, and Starscream did not wait patiently for him to recover.

"Who did this?" she demanded. Failing to support its weight, Swindle's head made a full rotation. "Was it a white Autobot? Did he have blue visors?! Answer me _now!_"

The Combaticon cleared his vision off three Starscream's, registering the last few words. "B-…blue?"

As the serial commander grilled the Combaticon for coherent answers, a lone Transformer, separating himself from the chaos, creeps nearer to his destination. His air intake turns shallow, forcing the cooling systems to drop its casual hum. The alarms desperately wail about his presence in the underwater base, but he draws his current interests to his weaponry. Too weak for the target, but it can be easily remedied, as he crudely forced them together in place. Perfect. At least his prey would be stunned, if the Transformer made a point blank shot. Now all he had to do was meet his latest victim. The alarms will soon stop howling, soldiers would return to their stations…he had to act fast. Activating the automatic doors, the assassin took nonchalant steps towards Megatron.

Who…looked strange. Charging his first shot, he walked nearer to the unmovable Decepticon. Fingers intertwined with one another despite the ensuring confusion between his troops, Megatron's concentrated gaze at the current battle plans seem steadfast. His helmet was titled to an angle, maybe to rest his chin on his knuckles. Falling asleep to the tumultuous melody blaring repeatedly in the Nemesis was a stupid presumption, but the Transformer shook those thoughts away, and raised his conjoined rifles.

One shot, and all will be over.

Acting as the only source of light in the room, the computer screens served as a minor hindrance, casting deep shadows upon the grey tyrant. Resting his weapon on his shoulder to get a more precise aim, the unthinking assassin left his sides unprotected by his arms.

Giving a point-blank opportunity, the nameless Transformer fell to a fierce shot by a black cannon from the darkness of the room. The holographic Megatron fizzled in protest before its owner turned it off his new gift from Starscream.

-------

"Thundercracker, answer me NOW!"

"Starscream! …Are you safe?"

"(Safer than being with you-)"

"Hey cons, I'm waiting downstairs if ya' need me anytime-"

"**SHUT UP!!!**"

"(Geeeeeez, picky-)"

"…Cons, I'm going back."

"Back? Back where-?"

"To Megatron." Starscream ended their conversation again. Not wanting to waste time with Swindle, the Decepticon female jetted off for the next bet; the Autobot must be after Megatron. Traversing through the Nemesis, she assured herself that the smuggled device was safe, having made contact with its new safe keepers, the Constructicons. They would undoubtedly inform her if anything were to jeopardise the contraption, if the blame could be shifted to the femme con. Neither did she care, because what was important right now was her-…_their_ leader. The only casualty was Swindle, and it was minor. Fishes pecking the Nemesis for food was hardly deemed a full frontal assault, and nothing has happened to their underwater base as of yet. So the only notable target that was left was Megatron. Not like he needed any help against one Autobot…

But she had to retrace her steps, return to her beloved leader. No one was allowed the privilege of denting, creasing or even leaving a microscopic scratch his body. As his troops belong to him, Megatron belongs to her, and in turn…

…No one, no one shall exterminate her leader but Starscream.

The war room was where she last left him. The aerial commander could hear a metal body pitifully scuffling the floor behind the doors. No…Megatron has not fallen! If the doors did not slide fast enough, the female Decepticon might have wrenched them apart with her own hands. A thick line of smoke wormed its way out of her leader's fusion cannon. There he stood, his carriage as august and statuesque as his commandeering nature, wielding his favourite death bringer. The slag maker arced his weapon arm down to his side, turning to his consort to pass a confident smile to her.

"Ah, Starscream, my favourite femme con. Either your wing mates are an impressionable lot, or you really _are_ as inspiring as you say you are."

Starscream did not wait for her leader to finish his words. Turning her head to the opposite end of her room, her wide vermillion optics found the culprit who had taken her ambitious 'teachings' into his own shaking hands. Clutching his side, Thundercracker found his rifles to be a suitable crutch for his injured state.

"H-…hey…..'Screamer…"


	33. Chapter 32: The Final Limerence II

**Chapter 32: The Final Limerence II / Angel Of My Dreams**

A/N: (19-2-2007) OH NO'S!!! 8O I know some of you guessed TC right, but don't flatter y'self ;) This fanfic ain't exactly unpredictable XDDDD

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'_No no no no…_'

'_This couldn't be happening…no…what is he thinking…_' Starscream eyed the blue jet's exposed chassis, losing fractured pieces of himself, charred and otherwise. Cutting a jagged smirk across his face, the blue Decepticon almost looked like his aerial commander on her good days. Interrupting the farcical simper, Thundercracker promptly vomited his last meal, fluorescent liquid erupting from his lips to disembogue into a puddle on the floor. Spitting the excess energon and sorely in denial of the pain, the blue jet's body crepitated in his efforts to support himself up; Thundercracker clumsily lurched back and crashed on his aft when he slipped on his own fluids.

The blue seeker could feel his head throbbing…or…twitching? He had to grab his head to make sure. The involuntary spasms shaking his torso confirmed his systems suffering terribly, and the wall behind him was the only reason why Thundercracker was not completely supine.

And there she stood, the red angel of his dreams…two of them. One. Three. No, just one. And her master.

…_That_ mech. The reliable troops belonging to the same Transformer soon littered the room, scattering themselves evenly to witness Thundercracker's betrayal. And Megatron was still smiling. Primus, the Decepticon leader _did _have a sense of humour. And a very bad one at that. Thundercracker's circuit board felt numb when the towering leader pulled Starscream to look faithful by his side. '_No chance or choice to pick sides now, huh Starscream?_'

"Decepticons…" Megatron turned to his loyal troops. "….It appears we have a _new_ traitor in our hands." Thundercracker stared stupidly at the Decepticon leader.

'…_What………ever._'

Starscream attention was plucked away from Megatron's oration, when her internal communicator sparked into life. She blinked at Thundercracker in recognition of her caller.

//_Hey….huh…S-StarscrheeuhrhKSHHH-_// Thundercracker directed his auto-repair systems to his cerebral circuits. //_…'Angel'. Heh heh…huh… I-I-I think you-you-yeuerh have to call Skywarp…tell him there's no Autobot…if-if he's figured it out by now…s-suh-sorry for…what happened on Cyb-Cyb-Cybertronnhkh-k-k-k-…Cybertron…N-…//_

//_Thundercracker…what…what in Primus' name are you **doing?!**_// she squinted, creasing her face anxiously. No one but Soundwave would know their exchange of words, but he was not here right now. What happened to all the reliable troops again?

//_I…I'm sorry…I'm sorry for-for-…I'm sorry for what I did. If-if-if- I could take it back…I-…_// Thundercracker's optics blinked dimly, and he tilted his head to stare dumbly at his spread-eagled feet. His hand raised itself up only to fall limply. Bodily expressions was very limited then. The proud Decepticon leader paced the room as he addressed his audience, quite content with being alive and well after Thundercracker's meager assault.

"It saddens me to see my troops use such our security defenses for his own agenda…" The female Decepticon looked angry and bewildered at her wing mate, who in turn wondered how she was going to scold him again.

//_…Why are you doing this Thundercracker? Do you still love me…? Is that it? …Why? What are you trying to prove-_//

//_Don't wanna hurt you, 'Screamer…_// Thundercracker raised his gaunt countenance, planting stern optics back at her. //_Don't…don't want you to hurt yourself either-_//

//_Is..is that it? Is that-? You don't want me to 'hurt myself-? How aimless are you, you stupid FOOL!!!_// _Starscream's_ fists started trembling now. //_You-! You need something, _anything_ to make your life meaningful that you take MY place?! What are you trying to prove?! Megatron's not as forgiving to me, so what makes you think he'll be-! And you-! HE'S NOT SO FORGIVING ANYWAY!!!_//

//_Okay, okay…don't have to shout at me…I'm already dying here-_// Starscream glared otherwise. //_Shut up. **SHUT UP**. No one's going to die-!_//

//_Slagging femme, can't you see half of my chest is GONE?! I need a new body for this, _if_ I survive!_// The aerial commander steeled herself to hear what's next. She didn't want to hear it, but she must. Typical Thundercracker. The femme con already had a faint idea as to what he was going to say next-

//_All my life…all my-…nothing. No meaning. Yeah, I hate those ground slags. Do you know how irritating Blitzwing looks right now? I mean, he flies, and then, and them he turns into a tank! A **TANK-**…Don't get me started on th'-…the drillinggggh…drilling Transformers. But…wha-…nothing. 'Family' doesn't want me back. Nothing. Then-…heh…then the-the con that's like my little brother…Skywarp…Skywarp pops out of nowhere…irritating. Then you-…_//

Thundercracker caught the hurt look in her optics…but he's not finished yet. Neither was Megatron.

"…And a feeble attempt at that. Of course, Thundercracker isn't to blame entirely, having Starscream as his superior…"

//_Please…don't say it…don't say it you stupid-!_//

//_Huh…I'll say whatever I want to say, so…there we were, in the academy, and Mister…_Miss _Pretentious, comes into our life. MY life-_//

//_SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUT**UPSHUTUP-!**_// she swallowed some air, raising her chest in mock bravery. Thundercracker knew Starscream for too long. //_Then why don't you disconnect the link? No? All right. Let me finish…_//

//_…You came, into my life…and when you-…revealed yourself to be a-…well, it answered a few questions. Angel…That's what you are. Angel of my dreams. Even if the guys were 'jealous' of you (must be the cute way you bitch and slag us off)…you still were beautiful to me, Starscream. And I wanted you so bad, I-…I can't die with no regrets now. But at least, I've found-…I've found out what I want…what I wanted to do. I'm a realistic mech. Ambitions come one step atrtthrt-at a time. I know, what I want. I don't want you to love me…what you want to do…who you want to love…that's your life…your ambitions…_//

The Decepticon leader almost finished strolling around his troops. "It is said that when the troops fail to act, the commander is to blame…"

//_Heh…you both...really like the sound of your own voice…like to talk…_// Thundercracker forced a small cough to chuckle at the situation, but Starscream did not catch the joke. //_…My…my ambitions? All I want…is for you to be-…all I want to say is…I…well, I really like you…'love you…as a sister, a wing mate…a-…a-…huh…maybe in my next life…_maybe_…_//

"But when the orders are given to the troops are concise…"

//_Ha ha…p-…poor Skywarp…idiot probably still wondering in th'-down there…_somewhere_…he'll be _so_ pissed off…_//

"…then the troops are to _blame_." Having ended his speech, all optics turned to the culprit of the fiasco.

//_Thundercracker, you're not going anywhere! If you go-!_// Her thoughts raced frantically with Thundercracker's. The animosity clouding the room with malevolent hatred, channeled its attention towards Starscream's wing mate. //_Skywarp will be VERY upset! I mean, who's he going to irritate now?! Not me-! He-! It's different with you! He likes the way you-! Who's going to tell him to clean his room or-or grow up! Or-! Or stop putting things in his mouth-?!_// Thundercracker jerked to her feverish thoughts, stifling his system failure.

"STARSCREAM!" she swiveled around to face her leader. "Did you hear what I said? KILL THIS TRAITOR!!!"

//_I'll miss you._//

Starscream felt the ground leave her feet. She's always hated his games. Turning to face Thundercracker, the Decepticon aerial commander decided to hide her countenance from everyone else. She didn't want her face to betray her tumultuous emotions to them, wrenching her insides apart, both heated yet distant. At least with Thundercracker, he would understand. She didn't want to do it. The only thing that was keeping her from escaping into a mental drift was her rifles, lodged into her shoulders. It was so easy to carry them in the face of an Autobot, but now it felt aberrantly heavy.

"Hey Megs," Megatron raised an optic to Thundercracker's crude moniker. "Don't be so hard on Starscream…" using his rifles as a prop, the blue seeker managed to curl himself upright, placing his weight on a functioning knee.

"(Thundercracker…)" he heard her gently whisper his name. A faint smile graced his lips as Megatron rose his arm cannon impatiently.

//_…'Love you Starscream-_//

"Here, let me help you."

Thundercracker's jaw fell on the ends of his rifle barrels, and fired.


	34. Chapter 33: The Last Odium

**Chapter 33: The Last Odium**

A/N: Sorry for the super long wait, I had a lot of things to do, trying to settle in with the new job and what not. Finally got down to proof reading the fic properly, though I know there's gonna be some mistakes. The last chapter was supposed to be a little bit longer, but then I don't know why I posted it anyway. As I would like to mention again, thank you for your support and your reviews, it's greatly appreciated, and very sorry for the long wait.

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Astrotrain leapt in recognition of Megatron's voice before their leader could end his sentence.

"Get it out of my sight," Megatron whipped his finger from the metal blue corpse to the entrance, and the triple changer did as he was told, avoiding the dazed aerial commander in his way.

"..Decepticons, there will be a meeting at 0500 Earth hours." Despite all optics focused on their leader, some of the troops snatched a glance at Thundercracker's legs, breaking the skin of semi-coagulated energon to draw a sticky trail to the exit. A flood of legs left the room the same way they came in, marching around the congealed stains blotting the floor. Megatron ventured out last with the communications officer, reserved in some small talk, leaving Starscream painfully alone.

'…_He's gone._' She stared listlessly into space, aimlessly running her thoughts. '_He's gone, and nothing can bring him back…_'

'_Did you plan this from the start cause there was nothing else for you to do in this life? Did you remind yourself what you left behind...play a sentimental montage of your life?_ _Was it sad and funny at the same time? Did you laugh an cry and feel that strange warmth inside what used to be your stupid thick head? Do all mechs do this before they die? …Did you see NOTHING worth living for in your life? What about your friends? What about me-?_'

Starscream felt something tickling her optics, avoiding the alien response with a harsh sniff.

'_It's all about me, isn't it? A femme con to ruin the empire of Decepticon legacy, nursed for generations…_' she blinked herself back to the present, staring dumbly at the ground.

'…_Now, I can be ultimately selfish…is that it…Thundercracker?_'

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Skywarp looked frantically for what was left of Thundercracker's body shell. When his friend's untimely departure was announced over the P.A, the purple jet cocked his head not out of shock, but placid curiosity upon hearing Thundercracker's name being stated, and everyone else's despondent optics aimed at him. The general idea soon dawned upon the purple seeker, now an F-15 jet chasing the hallways for his dead wing mate. If his body was recycled for slag for more practical uses, the space bridge would have been used to reach the ominously bright smelting pools of Cybertron. The Constructicons wouldn't have been mulling around their energon cubes in the canteen, being their duty to escort the precious husks of the dead to its proper resting place. The build-up of discarded limbs in the storage rooms had not managed to create a mountain of itself yet. Disrupting it's process, Skywarp dug, scrapped, and even warped through the macabre of lifeless Decepticon anatomy if he could fit.

It was involuntarily stupid, but the purple seeker called out for his wing mate, hoping to hear that familiar voice answer back.

-------

The day slowly concluded, cloaking itself with the glittering night sky. The Decepticon aerial commander stealthily shifted herself up the rocky hill to espy her leader, who was pondering to himself. Darkness hides very little in a Transformer's optics, and her red torso was not exactly a passive colour either.

Megatron grumbled her presence away. "What do you want Starscream?"

'_Shit._' The red seeker helped herself from the planetary mud ball and stood in full view of the grey Transformer's back, his contemplative gaze unmoving for the blinking stars in the sky.

"You know Thundercracker can be brought back." he spoke first, but Starscream snapped back with an acerbic fact. "As we _all_ can be, _Megatron_."

A smile danced upon the Decepticon tyrant's lips, but he kept his amusement to himself.

"Take an empty seeker shell, bring back his spark and call him Thundercracker." Her feet started taking forceful steps along the ground, reflecting her understanding of Transformer life to Megatron. "His memory banks will be reinstalled and updated with vorns of his own battle experience, depending on when he last saved such details. Basic personality and social etiquette will be provided for self-dependence." Scuffing the dry earth, she stopped.

"…But that will not bring Thundercracker back."

"Our personal memory banks…there is no hope or right in saving them to be uploaded, in case of historical repercussion. Yet…you and me…we have that right. Not Thundercracker, not Skywarp, or any other Decepticon." She lowered her helmet to stare at her feet. "Thundercracker is not the same person anymore."

"Good, then you know the facts. Well done." Megatron lifted his enormous carriage from his rocky perch and turned to face his aerial commander.

"_Good_ for you too, and sorry to disappoint you, Megatron, but after today's events, you'd think I would be doing this for someone else." Starscream hissed, her lips parted to chill her grit teeth. "Thundercracker was _mine_. He belongs to ME!"

"And you belong to the Decepticon army, which, belongs to me" Megatron snubbed her last comment and paced the small rocky outpost, until a sharp sound pierced his audio receptors, and he found himself caught unaware by the full blast of Starscream's null rays striking his torso. The Decepticon leader's paralytic hands failed to grab hold of the uneven surface of the wall as he plummet to the ground. His gleaming optics recognised the red jet blossoming from the cliff with her thrusters at full power, allowing herself to be swallowed by the night sky. Rebooting his systems from the familiarity of the null ray's effects, Megatron finally caught hold of a stray rock, slamming face first into the parched ground.

'_Damn this fickle female…_' he picked himself off the ground, letting the loose gravel roll off his shoulders. Starscream's aerial retreat signaled her first line of defense against Megatron, a strategic instinct against a Transformer stronger than her. '_Predictable…_'

"I knew it would come to this, as always…" a crooked grin crept on Megatron's face, scanning for her next appearance. "I was just waiting for it to happen…just wondering: when was Starscream going to try and _fail_ to take over my position again? Not too soon I hope."

"That's just the beginning, Megatron!" a raspy voice bellowed from the skies as he rose to face the darkness. "And if you're not _entirely_ convinced, here's some more proof!"

A star in the infinite sky slowly grew bigger in size, emerging as a silver nosecone belonging to the aerial commander. Firing her lasers above Megatron brought the rocky cliff to collapse, but the grey Transformer hastily dashed from the landslide into the clear opening. Perfect for a cluster bomb attack. Having no shelter, Megatron and the surrounding area was engulfed by the hail of fire she unleashed upon him. Decorated in playful hues from the explosion, the red seeker felt the warmth of her assault brighten her chassis, and she circled for Megatron's damaged remains like a vulture. A rapid streak of purple ended her scavenger hunt, hollowing her wing and grazing her thrusters. A surprised shriek escaped her communicator and the aerial commander convulsed back into her root mode, halting her descent onto the flat plains.

Stumbling to a halt, Starscream turned around to miss the aspen Transformer from her optics…a transforming sequence could be heard nearby. Her body jolted to the acute sounds playing into her audio receptors…he was nearby, but that was not her question. Suspiciously prowling around the boulders resting by the damaged cliff, Starscream chuckled; if Megatron was nicely propped in the debris to get a clear shot, that meant he was hiding, and it was not like her leader to quail so easily.

"Megatron, _darling_…" she crooned. "Are you _that_ desperate?" A graveled voice from the landslide revealed the Decepticon leader's position.

"Starscream, as much as I hate to be in this situation like someone I know," the darkness surrounding the boulders growled. "…Let me assure you, it's not out of cowardice, because Megatron does not curl up into a pathetic ball to hide behind someone _else's_ body shell."

"BASTARD! At least **_I_** don't refer to myself in the third person like some moronic sparkling!" she stamped the ground in quick frustration. "Surprise me with some original dialogue for once, because I'm tired of hearing you talk!"

"Of course Starscream! Because I _love_ to hear myself talk," Megatron acrimony made a pair of null rays cry in anticipation for his metal.

"And if you're not entirely convinced..." he spoke mockingly, "…here's some more proof!"

Starscream's mouth gaped open to deliver another verbal repertoire, but all that came out was another startled yelp. Starscream looked up for the culprits who clobbered the back of her head, optics catching a pair of twin condors surfing the skies. '_Interjecting brown nose!_' Starscream pointed her null rays to the night blue Transformer behind her, his finger conveniently resting on the eject button on his shoulder.

"SOUNDWAVE!!!" the femme con cried, her countenance turning sour with bruxed teeth. "**_YOU!!!_**"

'_It's all **YOUR** fault! YOU did this to us! If you hadn't put that stupid faceplate in other people's business-!!!_'

If there was anyone to blame for her shortcomings, Soundwave was the obvious choice, but the clairvoyant Decepticon didn't waste his time reading her manic thoughts. Instead, he made a late gesture for Starscream's inconvenience.

"Look behind you." Soundwave's vocals chimed with his plaintively raised finger at the aerial commander's shoulder. Skipping to face her primary opponent, Starscream tensed in white fear at Megatron's weapon. Indigo sparks hurriedly collected themselves into the arm cannon's barrel, and the second-in-command's thoughts clicked in revelation of her leader's cannon lagging in comparison to its regular speed; it was his way of prolonging the stupefied look on his victim's face. The flurry of emotions challenging her fight-or-flight instincts grabbed her spark in a vice, forgetting her opponent's loyal subordinate; Starscream felt the dual shot singe her wings, bringing her knees to the ground. A large black hand forced her forehead to accompany her feet, punching the back of her neck to bring the seeker to a subdued position. A second pair of arms locked her own as Megatron helped her from the ground, flicking her chin with a hearty slap to accompany the second punch. It was not the first time the tyrant administered his barbaric discipline, but facing their leader was terrifying enough. Taking a cue from his leader, Soundwave shoved the female Decepticon back to the earth, banging her head against a grey foot in the process.

It was not fair.

"M-MEGATRON-!!!" Starscream gasped from her energon stained mouth. "N-No, NO MORE, PLEASE!!! NO-! I-! STOP!!!"

Her gargled pleas was a reminder of how Megatron and Soundwave shared their callous jokes, laughing at her wretched state. The communications officer took a few careful steps away from the duo, before flying back to the Nemesis to his leader's orders. Her wailings grew sharp as his foot grated her wings into her scoured back, tearing her internal systems apart. Her clawed fingers amused Megatron when his heel stopped them writhing…it was just like the old times. Her begging sounded sentimental compared to the past few months, fulfilling his sentiments in pain without lust. Ever since her change, Starscream made him feel as if these moments of abuse was geared to satisfy their lustful cravings. It made him feel awkward to have one female introduce this perverted sensation. It made his every cog grind their teeth in abhorrence, and Megatron grew bored of it.

The Decepticon leader raised his foot when it felt sticky, scuffing his heel onto the edge of her wings to wipe the energon from his foot. Her lament died to a speechless breath. Now that they weren't under observation from prying eyes, he scooped her from the ground with his hand clamped around her neck, and spat on her body in revulsion.

"Stupid female, this isn't your first time. So why do you always _beg?_" she left Megatron's question alone, having no breath or strength to shake her mouth open fast enough. There was something different about her now. She looked pitiful, for reasons they both knew.

"(Y…you…k-…killed…)-ukh!" Wrong answer, wrong topic. If he let go of her, her legs would fail to keep her frame vertical. She managed a small inaudible mewl. "(…Why…?)"

"…Why _what?_" he grunted. Her wet optics tried to plead with his own, but Megatron did not register that either.

"…D-…Does…Megatron, not-…feel…(anything…)" a small sob escaped her crushed vocal chords. "(F-…for…me?)"

He could hear his troops arriving to the scene. Two triple changers were enough to escort this seeker to a place befitting of such contumacious behaviour. She glanced at them through broken optics, their feet thudding ominously to her broken frame, shadows looming in mock intimidation. Bringing her to an intimate distance, Megatron cradled her head to his shoulder in false affection.

"(My dear Starscream…have you not learnt anything?)" he whispered quietly. Her fuel pump skipped a beat in desperation to hear some words of hope, or at least, some contrived sense of security while it lasts. "(Always begging for me when the stakes are low and everyone's against you. Do you know why you're still alive today? You don't have to say anything. I know your excuses. Is Megatron capable of feeling for someone else? Doesn't matter.)"

"To me, my dear…_everything_ is fodder."

Megatron thrust the broken seeker to the unwilling tank. "Blitzwing, Astrotrain, send her to the detention cells on Cybertron. When the device to rid ourselves of the accursed Autobots is complete, dispose of this sordid excuse of a Decepticon."

Not fair.

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A/N: Evil bastard. That last quote was his own quote from his original bio. For a while I planned to use it…


	35. Epilogue: Quid Pro Quo

**Chapter 34: Epilogue – Quid Pro Quo, Starscream**

A/N: And a one, and a two-

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A still husk lay neglected on the cell floor, wasting away like an abandoned marionette. Optics flickering irregularly told the prison guards that she continued to function despite her dangerously low energon levels. The only time she was put in motion was when the prison guards animated her with irregular beatings. To ridicule her piteous state, they threw in an fitting companion for equal company. She didn't know why, but the aqua blue body shell could sometimes talk, even if it lacked a tongue and a head. She would answer through a strained voice, croaking a feeble reply, but most of the conversations were one-sided. At least he should respond to his name. After being flung to a different corner, the red seeker quietly contemplated the lines on the ceiling.

Starscream always has a plan.

Or at least, some strange choice of sympathisers, who are coincidentally purple. Having relocated their base to Cybertron for the next attack on Earth, the Decepticons grew happier without her, and the visits became more frequent. Quiet hours would bring the purple Cassetticon to her cell to feed her his share of energon. Skywarp avoided them for a while, mainly because he was ushered into a new rank by default, which demanded more of his time. Once, when she was kicked to a sitting posture, Starscream thought she saw his shadow cast from the light at the door. He wanted to see them. He really did. But a broken friend and a headless friend was not a gladsome sight. When she did see him, he wore the look of a child in pain. If Skywarp knew, Starscream wouldn't force him to look upon his closest friends like this and usher him away.

What's going to happen now? Megatron's schemes were falling into place. What turned out to be harmless buildings on Cybertron were giant ominous casts of would-be cannons, collecting energon for it's first attack. Threatening the total destruction of Earth with their very own home planet, powered by a scientifically challenging device, the Autobot's had very little time to spare. Seven days more, and all that would be left of Earth is space dust sprinkled across the universe.

_If_, Megatron succeeded.

At first, there was some belief that she would be free. Then, things started to happen. Lights. Voices. Autobots floating the ceilings. Thundercracker's headless body shell doing the cha-cha. Skywarp joins the dance in perfect unison with his late wingmate, synchronizing their movements to some obscure theme song playing in the background. And she would clap along if she had the strength, but all Starscream could do was lamely cheer them on. Being vocal to her livid visions dispersed her boredom.

'_Sanity. Hmmmmmmmm….sanity……what?_'

Maybe this was what killed her hopes of escaping, this languor that came with a prolonged death. The surreal illusions drifted into existence as a result of her depleting energy supply, her fuel tank getting painfully dry. Was her hallucinations playing again, or was the floor _really_ pulsating this time? A flash of white light blinded her guard outside her cell, followed by a violent explosion.

'_...Pretty_'. Starscream didn't know her imagination could extend to her jailers. Wow. This was vibrant. Wait. There was something wrong.

Those big throbbing bars that prevented her from escaping were gone.

…And there was no dancing. Or music.

A small red optic blinked in recognition of her Porsche cum saviour.

…_Angel…._

Jazz's voice never sounded more melodious or more beautiful to her audio receptors, words rolling off his tongue like silk. Cautious hands curled around her battered chassis with ease, since her wings were violently torn from her back ages ago. A voice susurrated her in the quietest hush, deathly afraid she might just break apart at the slightest hint of agitation.

"Jazz, are you sure she'll help us?" the other Autobot regurgitated his doubts to the saboteur.

'…_Who….who the slag is this…Autobot?_' she mentally grumbled at the blue and white intrusion._ '...R-Ruined a perfectly good moment._'

"'Raj baby, I'm _sure_ sure. Ask Blaster. If he weren't snoopin' 'round, we'd never gotten wind of this piece of info."

'_It's called horse mode…or load…or coder…folder…Tell him to go away…his head's so blue._' She fell into semi-consciousness, shutting off her vision from the foreign lights outside her cell. A golden rectangle frame drew itself around Mirage before he vanished from sight. Starscream could feel a fuel line snake into her own, feeding her circuits to cure her hunger. The Autobot's fingers wound tighter around her torn frame, making sure she didn't rattle as much when he bolted off with their current catalyst of war.

The saboteur's arm chirped at Prowl's incoming message. "Status report, Jazz!"

"The little lady's banged up but fine," Jazz sung back a reply to the tactician, stealing a look at the seeker's head bobbing off his hood.

"(My…hero…)" she coughed out an awry chuckle. Looking through slits, she espied a crude entrance made by the Autobots and a sizable amount of explosives.

"_Quid pro quo_, angel," the black and white Autobot grinned at her trademark smirk. "_Do ut des_."

Lousy human linguistics. But that didn't matter.

Starscream always had a plan.

Or Devastator-sized luck.

-----_END-----_

A/N: Yeah, I had to add an extra feel good epilogue, right?! XD It was supposed to be more tragic, but I opted for the feel good because (a) Starscream rocks and (b) you can't bring a good/bad mech down. It has been fun and tedious at the same time writing this fic, but I am glad to have explored this idea and shared it with you all. I've hope you've enjoyed it! If you didn't like it then I'm sorry, but what are you doing here in the last chapter?!!! XDDD Thank you very much for your support and your reviews everyone:D


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